


It's a Kind of Magic

by zugzwangxo



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Magic, Wiccan - Freeform, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 20:24:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 64,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5104583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zugzwangxo/pseuds/zugzwangxo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Through a chance encounter, Dr. Spencer Reid is introduced to an enchanting way of life that he'd never considered. But when the magical tide turns, he must use all at his disposal to preserve the natural beauty of this discovery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was hard to find a good book these days. a real book, with pages and print and hardback covers. Everywhere we look we are pushed toward reading digitally and the old ways of doing things will soon be forgotten. This is a mantra of Spencer’s, rather than avoidance of progress, his lack of will toward words printed in LCD was a conservation of the art of reading. That and it was much easier for him to read at his true pace when the words are right in front of you. Having said that, you would think that in all his reading and all his knowledge and will for the printed page to go on, he would appreciate the will for other ‘old ways’.

The air was getting colder, much to the liking of many people. This had been an extremely hot, extremely dry summer and the changing of the seasons was overdue. Spencer walked slowly through the park, looking along a treeline as he walked. The leaves crunched under his sneakers, step after step after relentless step. The search for knowledge is a never ending one, and Spencer was exhausting his current resources and literature, as he usually did from time to time. So his search had led him to venture to the one place he knew he could always find more.

Some way across town from his apartment, on the other side of this park, there stood a book store. This bookstore was unlike many he’d frequented, and he had frequented many. Frequently. Upon opening the door alone, your would be aroused in all manner of ways, as he had come to appreciate. First, there was the jingle of the small bell that chimed every time someone opened and closed the door. This was followed by the intense aroma of history and musty paper, infused with hot coffee. Looking around, Spencer took in the sight of an amassed collection of old hardback books which filled every shelf on every wall.Scattered around him as he crossed the threshold, were places to sit still and get lost in whatever pages you happened to procure from the shelves that day. To the corner, by the window, was a small counter with and old style cash register from which the aged owner would look on over his kingdom of pages.

There were only four people in the store, including Spencer. The owner stood by his register, reading from a particularly old looking book as he leaned forwards on his elbows. In the corner sat a man with semicircle glasses and long dark hair, who seemed to be completely unaware of anything else around him as he reached for something on the table beside him that was clearly no longer there.

Finally, there was a woman, a little younger than himself, searching through a particular shelf for some hidden and rare book. As Spencer passed her to head towards a less populated shelf, the young woman grabbed a book excitedly, starting to turn to head for the register. The pair collided in an awkward thud, causing the woman to drop her book and the two others she’d been carrying. Her face turned a bright pink as she apologised and dropped down to collect her books.

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t… I should’ve paid attention to where I was going.” She stammered in complete and utter embarrassment as she collected up the first of the books. Spencer dropped down to help her, feeling partly at fault for passing so close behind her.

“Not at all, I should’ve been paying attention too…” He said, collecting an open book from the ground and examining the cover. “’The Elements’, doing a little research?” The young woman smiled politely at his question as she accepted the book from him.

“I suppose you could say that, yes.” She picked up the third book and rose to her feet, mimicked by Spencer as he did the same. His eyes flicked to the book she’d picked up last.  
“And ‘The Theory and Practice of Horticulture’, maybe you’re a triple threat science major?” He smiled broadly with his almost goofy, lighthearted smile. “Might I wager that the third book is about physics and the universe?”

“More like… alternative science.” She smiled to him. Most people would have told her to watch where she’d been going but he’d taken the time to show an interest in a fellow human being. Spencer looked puzzled, intrigued by the thought of ‘alternative science’ to the point he wanted to know more but felt like it’d be prying if he asked.

“Well, I hope you find the knowledge you seek.” He said, finally stepping aside so that she could pay for her new literature.

“Here’s hoping.” She responded cheerfully as she passed him and walked toward the counter. Spencer watched her for a moment, considering several times if he should ask her if she’d like to go for coffee or something but the words didn’t come and he eventually turned to peruse the shelves. As he did, the young woman turned back to look at him, wondering if there might be more conversation or if this was just another crossing of two souls on their eternal journey. When he hadn’t looked back, she decided it must have been the latter and moved off to tend to her new books.

~

The morning was getting late, and even the pages themselves seemed dry and thirsty as his eyes traveled across them at an ungodly rate. The wind was picking up and the clouds were rolling in, making the pages fight back and the light dim on his reading. Perhaps it was time to give up on the outdoors and venture somewhere warmer and lighter, possibly with refreshments.

Spencer stood up from the park bench, placing the book into his satchel, and looked along both directions of the path for the ideal place to venture. One direction led homeward, the other led to the row of stores where there were at least two coffee shops. Tucking his hair behind his ear he started off in one direction, having made the decision that a large, warm latte sounded like heaven in this weather.

The further he walked, the colder it seemed to get as the north wind grew stronger, pulling darker and darker clouds toward him. If he didn’t reach the coffee shop soon, he feared he may become rather damp. The moisture in the air was already playing havoc with the curl of hair that now refused to stay behind his ear. Looking at himself in the window of the shop, he tried hard to adjust it and flatten the fugitive fringe but still it disobeyed. After one last attempt and a hefty sigh, he gave up, moving to the door modern looking glass door, pulling the cold, brushed steel handle and stepping across the threshold, through the warm blast of air from the door heater.

The sights and sounds and smells of the coffee shop were much like most as the baristas shuffled around each other, quickly trying to satisfy the expectantly waiting customers who’d queue patiently. Every so often, the sound of the steamed milk jetting from the coffee machine drowned out the low sound of chatter and light clinking of spoons and mugs. Just by the door was a promotional sign offering this season’s latest fad coffee, the ‘Pumpkin Spice Latte’. It must have been popular, because the smell of the pumpkin spice hung heavily yet temptingly in the air. And why not? It was almost Halloween, after all.

After a flurry of movement and piping hot water and milk and coffee and spice powder, there it was. A tall, white mug topped with white and brown foam which had been expertly and artistically formed to look like a pumpkin. He had to hand it to them, it smelled wonderful and it looked great. Nodding with appreciation for the skill as he turned to find a seat it quickly became apparent that there weren’t any free tables for him to read in peace. In fact there were very few free seats as the turn in the weather had driven people indoors, just like him.

Having been there since the pleasant weather of the earlier morning, the young woman sat with her nose in her book, stirring her third spiced latte without looking. On the table in front of her was a small white candle that, with permission of the staff, she’d lit and it was now creating a warm ambiance by the window as the world outside began to darken and the rain began to fall. It wasn’t till the flame flickered audibly that she looked up from her book, looking around to see if the door had opened or not but it had not. Instead, what she saw, was an obviously put out Spencer Reid as he glanced left to right in a hopeless attempt to spot someone leaving their seat. People were moving past him in all directions and he looked as if he were lost at sea without a single person to help him in the ocean of humanity that surrounded him. Her mind wandered back to the kindness of simple interaction that he’d paid her and she couldn’t help but smile as she raised her hand and waved him over. Spencer still looked bewildered as he wandered across to the table.

“You don’t mind?” He asked politely as she smiled.

“Of course not. We’re both looking for somewhere warm and peaceful to read, so why not do it in company?” He nodded, trying once more to tuck the hair behind his ear but feeling it spring immediately back out.

“Thank you, that’s very kind.” He replied, slinking into the seat opposite her. He glanced down at the candle and frowned “This the only table with a candle?” That made her chuckle.

“The candle is my own. ‘Better to light a candle than curse the darkness’.” She looked around at the dullness that had come of the day. Spencer’s eyes light up as she quoted the proverb to match the situation. “I like the white candle, it’s a symbol of peace. Which is something I need when I’m reading.” Her attention had moved back to Spencer, who was looking at the book she had been reading.

“’The Elements’ not a harmonious enough book?”

“Oh, very much so. All of the elements work in harmony.”

“Tell that to oxidants.” Spencer smiled broadly at his joke but her expression was one of deep thought. Tipping her head she considered the next turn of the conversation and decided that it was the universe telling her to approach Spencer, seeing as this was the second time they’d come together in such a small space of time.

“I bet you work with some form of science. You look like you might have spent a long time looking at very precise words.” Spencer was taken a little aback by the abruptness of the statement.

“I… I er… I study behaviour but er… I have several degrees and PhD's in sciences, engineering and mathematics but er… also philosophy.” He didn’t know why he felt the need to tell her but he felt it was going somewhere. “But wait, didn’t you say you were reading a science book?” She’d pre-empted the question and was already reaching into her bag, pulling out the third book, which Spencer hadn’t actually seen.

“The Wiccan Bible.” She said, placing the book on the table. “It’s a science, if you really look into it. Just not one that’s taken very seriously anymore.” He blinked a few times, his eyes glued to the red leather cover of the book in front of him. Was she serious?

“Well, I… we know that…”  
“You know what? That science is slowly killing spirit and earth?” She chuckled “I don’t practice this to be Harry Potter, I practice it for my spirituality and for nature.” She leaned forward and blew out the candle, letting the smoke rise slowly toward him in the intoxicating aroma as she slid from her seat. It took him a moment to realise that she was leaving.

“Wait, I don’t even know your name.” Spencer interjected.

“Hmmm? Me? My name is Anwyn. And you? Well, I think I’ll just call you ‘Doctor’ for now.” And with that she slid her bag onto her shoulder and walked away, holding her latte in her hand. Watching her leave he tried to let it sink in that she was being serious, it took so long that she’d already left by the time he’d noticed the candle was still sat before him and that he was cupping it in his hands while his latte cooled slowly by his side.


	2. Chapter 2

It still bugged him a great deal. So much so that he’d been sitting there in his armchair for a whole hour and he’d still not finished the book that he’d picked up when he first got in. He kept glancing at the white Yankee candle that he’d placed on the side table when he’d arrived home. Why had she left it with him?

The sound of the wind and rain battering his windows was getting louder and louder as the evening drew on. Even in the dim light of his living room, he could see the streaks of water running down the glass pane, but it was the dim light that alerted him first. The light dipped then returned, followed almost immediately by a low rumble of thunder which seemed to vibrate the entire room. The forecasters on the morning news had predicted rain but storms weren’t uncommon for the time of year. Spencer tried to settle back to his book, being momentarily distracted from the candle by the weather but a sudden flash, which at first illuminated the room, plunged him into darkness as all of the lights went out.

“Damn it.” He exclaimed aloud before sighing heavily. At this rate he’d not even finish the book in a day, let alone the half hour he’d intended, but it was then that Anwyn’s quote returned to him. ‘Better to light a candle than curse the darkness.’

Did she know this was going to happen and that he’d need the candle? She had alluded to being into Wiccan and witchcraft, had she seen this by some form of divination? Spencer slowly rose to his feet, shaking his head at the thought as he started to fumble around in the darkness in search of matches. Several objects made harsh contact with his shins as his hands searched with very little effectiveness.

“Ouch, damn it.” He said as his foot hit the leg of his sofa, causing him to almost topple over. If only there was some light coming from the windows, maybe from the street, but luck was not on his side.

He’d managed to make it to the side table near the door when a sudden loud knocking made him all but cry out. He paused in silence, waiting to see if it happened again. Thud, thud, thud came the sound from his door again.

“Anyone home!?” Came a woman’s voice from beyond the door as he stumbled toward it.

“Just a second!” He called back, stepping carefully around the corner of the side table and unbolting the door.  
“Oh, thank you.” The voice started as he turned the handle and started to open the door. “I just moved in downstairs and I… holy crap.” With the door open, the two strangers finally saw each other. In the dim light of the candle in the woman’s hand they stared at each other in utter bewilderment.

“Anwyn?” Spencer’s jaw had dropped but both their eyes trailed down to the candle that he was holding in his hand.

“Clearly the universe knew that I needed to give you that. Here.” She offered her lit candle to light his unlit one, which he speechlessly accepted.

“This is…” Spencer started to speak but couldn’t find the words.

“Weird? Difficult to comprehend?” She smiled. “This is my kind of science.” At that moment, there was another white out of bright light followed swiftly by an almighty clash of thunder, causing Anwyn to almost jump into Spencer. Her eyes darted around like a frightened child, not really sure what to look for but terrified all the same.

“Are you ok? Would you like to come in and sit down?” Spencer led her inward, now that there was light he could see where he was going as he ushered her to the sofa. Placing his candle down on the coffee table, he gestured for her to sit. “My name is Spencer, by the way.” He smiled to her. “Would you like some tea?” All of the confidence that she had exuded had been jolted out of her.

“That would be… wonderful, thank you… Spencer.” She nodded, regaining some composure. “Say, you said you study behaviour?”

“Mhmm, for the FBI.” Spencer responded, moving away toward the kitchen.

“Oh, wow, that’s… quite impressive.” She watched him walk away before glancing around at all of the books and papers piled everywhere. “So… tell me. How can I be fascinated by storms, yet be so terrified of them?” Spencer had found two mugs and had started to boil a kettle of water, smiling at her question.

“You know, it’s not that uncommon. One in three people have some form of ‘Astraphobia’, just that most cases aren’t all that severe. Coupled with your Wiccan appreciation for nature and the unknown, I’d say the fascination stems from the sheer magnificence of a powerful natural phenomenon. Which, by the way, can be explained entirely by science.” He smirked at his little dig but she didn’t take offence. Instead she chuckled lightly, knowing that it was only intended to lighten her mood.

“So what exactly does the FBI do with ‘Behavioural Researchers’?”

“Not Researchers, Analysts. We analyse behavioural patterns in crimes to help create a profile which will lead law enforcement to the correct suspect.” Spencer picked up the two hot mugs and wandered back through to her, setting hers down beside her candle on the coffee table.

“That sounds kinda interesting. Oh, thank you.” She happily picked up the mug and blew gently across the surface of the steaming liquid. Spencer sat back on the sofa next to her, holding his mug close to his chest.

“It can be very interesting.” Their features looked exaggerated by the flickering light of the candles, casting shadows over the sharper edges. The room itself was dark and eerie as the ghostly shapes pranced back and forth with the tiny flames. The small smile that had spread across his lips had been caused by what he’d found today. Someone genuinely intriguing that was also intrigued by him. 

“I mean, there’s the obvious dangers to it but…”

“Dangers? You actually go out into the field?” Anwyn look almost shocked as she interjected.

“Well, yeah. My team and I fly out to wherever we’re needed. We work with local law enforcement until the unsubs are caught or stopped.” He explained but she looked even more confused.

“You call the suspects ‘unsubs’?” Spencer smiled at the question he heard more than he cared to.

“Yes, it means ‘unidentified subject’. See, suspect implies that they’re suspected to have committed the crimes, whereas an unsub definitely did, we just don’t know their identity yet.”

“Oh, I see. So you’d call them that until you knew who they were?”

“Exac…” Spencer started but was cut off by a blinding flash of light, followed a second or so later by a heavy rumble of thunder. He looked to her immediately. “Are you ok?”

Anwyn had cowered into the corner of the sofa a little, her eyes darting around yet again but she managed to nod as she spread out once more. Leaning forward, she picked up the mug of tea, taking long gulps in an attempt to take in as much of the warm fluid as possible.

“I… I’ll be alright.” She said, finally smiling to him.

“If it’s any consolation, that one was further away. I think its passing.” Anwyn nodded but didn’t seem to relax very much more. She took another long sip of her tea before placing the mug back on the coffee table. “What about you? What exactly is involved with your er… alternative science?” She chuckled at the question.

“I mostly practice earth magic. I like to think that in some way I am balancing out my effect on nature by connecting with it spiritually.” The idea baffled him, which made him partly sceptical but also very much interested. “I have a group of friends who I meet with and we often go out to parks and woods to honour the earth.”

“Like a coven?”

“Yes, very much so. I mean it’s not all we do, sometimes we’ll just get together for a few glasses of wine or go out together. We’re just a group of friends with a common interest.” She looked at the intrigue which rested on his features. “If you want to know more, there’s a lot I can show you…. More, I guess, than you can show me of what you do.”

Spencer was about to answer when he was yet again cut off by a flash of light, this time the gap between the lightning and the thunder was more than a few seconds, as well as being much weaker. Anwyn had still shifted in fear, this time toward Spencer, gripping his knee with her hand. After a long moment, she realised what she was doing and hopped away.

“I’m sorry, I…”

“It’s fine, seriously. I know what it’s like to be afraid of something.” He smiled to her but she looked ashamed of herself.

“I imagine you do, and with much greater reason than I have of being scared of storms.” She picked up her mug, drinking down the last of it.

“Not at all. For every fear there is a natural or psychological reason behind it. And the fear of storms would be way up there with natural fears.” That made her relax a lot more. Not many people would have been able to talk her down so well. Was it because of his knowledge of psychology or was it just that he was a genuine person showing real compassion? Either way, she liked whatever it was he was doing.

There was another flash of lightning, but this time it was barely enough to be seen over the candle light. Anwyn looked to the window but she still felt calm, even when the low rumble of thunder came, knowing that it was far away. Spencer had seen her through what would have been a horrible experience in a new apartment, alone and in the dark. How did he do that?

“Was there something in that tea?” She joked. “Because… I don’t even feel scared anymore.”

“No,” Spencer laughed. “Just tea and conversation. The rational part of your brain has finally caught up with you to tell you that you are, in fact, safe.” He smiled to her. She smiled to him, wordlessly thanking him for his kindness. A thought crossed her mind that she could perhaps repay him for his kindness, keeping him in mind the next time she asked anything of the earth. Or even, more conventionally, she could ask him to go out some time.

“You know, Spencer.” She smiled, leaning towards him. “I don’t think I’d find it absolutely terrible if you and I were to maybe get another coffee together some time.” Spencer nodded, smiling back to her.

“Yeah, I think I’d like that.” As he spoke she stood up, brushing her hands on the tops of her thighs nervously as she walked with him to the door. Taking the handle firmly, she looked to him one last time.

“Good night, Spencer. I’ll see you soon.” She leaned to him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for helping me keep calm.” Spencer blushed heavily, having to break eye contact.

“Not at all. Goodnight Anwyn.” And with that, she left, leaving him to close the door slowly and somehow miss the company already.


	3. Chapter 3

Spencer trotted happily down the stairs, glancing around to the dark, wooden door of Anwyn’s apartment as he approached. There was a familiar smell hanging in the air, but it didn’t become apparent to him what it was until he rounded the railing and spotted the carved pumpkin which sat by the door. The flesh of the pumpkin had been carved into a cheerful, almost clown like face, rather than a scary face. Through the eyes, he could just about make out the white candle which was causing the glow. Smiling to himself, he knocked on the door, wrapping the wood with his knuckles in a pattern for his own amusement. A moment or so passed, during which Spencer could hear shuffling followed by quickened footsteps. Finally, the door swung open, revealing Anwyn in her cute witch costume with striped tights, dark, frilly skirt and corset. His eyes lit up.

“Oh… I er… is that really appropriate?” He chuckled at the costume. “Isn’t it promoting like a bad image of witchcraft or something?” Anwyn smiled, looking down at herself.

“It’s meant to be ironic, and super cute.” She frowned, looking him up and down. “Speaking of… where is your costume? You didn’t even bring a mask or anything.”

“Oh, well, we all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.” He smirked.  
“Andre Berthiaume, huh? Well, my life is an open book. You read?” She grinned back at him as he looked confused.

“Did… did you just quote ‘Batman Forever’?”

“So what if I did?” She chuckled again. “Would you like to come in? I just need to grab a few things and we can get going.” Spencer nodded politely, allowing himself to be shown into the apartment that was laid out exactly like his, just with more modern furniture and less clutter of books. Anwyn moved across to a small table which had several autumnal objects on it and a pair of candles, picking up a satchel from the ground beside it. His intrigue guided him toward this table, looking at the items in turn. A dried leaf, some seeds, an apple, all of them grouped together between the two candles.

“Happy Samhain.” Anwyn exclaimed, as she stuffed something else into her bag. “I’m glad you agreed to this. This is such a wonderful celebration to take part in.”

“Happy Samhain to you too. I must admit, I may still be skeptical about the actual practices but the meanings and the symbolism fascinate me.”

“Good, just… keep an open mind and you should do just fine.”

~

The dusk air was calm and refreshingly cool, carrying the scent of bonfires and smoldering leaves. The streets were filled with children in costume, running around on sugar highs as their parents followed with aching feet from walking up every single path and driveway for several blocks. The further they walked, the thinner the population of the pavement became, travelling through the suburbs till they reached the edge of town and the first stop of the night.

Spencer had a look of concern as they approached their destination, having not been told it would be a cemetery. The wrought iron railings spanned the gaps between the stone columns that surrounded the resting place of hundreds of people, keeping the living out and perhaps the dead in.

“This is er… a little melodramatic, don’t you think?” Spencer asked, still examining the railings. Anwyn smiled.

“We’re not here for effect, this is part of Samhain. We celebrate the end of life, not because of its end but because of everything before it and everything after it.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a bag of apples and a trowel. “We’ have to do this out here though, they get a little funny about people digging inside the cemetery.”

“Digging?” This was getting worse and worse. Anwyn nodded and knelt to the floor, digging at the grass that ran along the wall. After a few seconds she had dug a hole the size of a fist.

“Part of the celebration is to make an offering to the dead, thanking them for what they gave us in life. We do this by burying apples near the resting site of the dead. Kinda like we’re giving them a snack to say thanks.” With that, she placed the first apple in the hole and started pushing the dirt back to bury it. Spencer knelt beside her, taking the trowel from her. She turned to object but then he started digging, making her smile.

“I kinda like that. The idea that we’re giving something to them means that they’re not completely gone. I mean I know that’s preposterous but… somewhere deep inside, it makes me feel like I’m doing something good here.” Anwyn leaned playfully against him before handing him an apple to place in the hole he’d dug. It didn’t matter to her that he didn’t fully believe in it, the sheer fact that he was humouring her, never mind that he was clearly enjoying it, was enough to make her happy.

“You know, not many people would understand what I do. And I’m not saying you do either but… thank you for doing this.” Spencer looked at her.

“Doing what? I’m learning, I should be thanking you.” He smiled broadly before looking back down at his empty hole but she wasn’t done thanking him. Before he was able to continue, she leaned across to him, kissing his cheek softly then retracting and blushing heavily. “What was that for?”

“For just…. Being really great.” They both shared a warm smile, having spent a lot of their free time together, they’d grown quite close but neither of them seemed to know just how much the other had come to mean.

Spencer looked down, placing his apple into the ground before covering it over, pressing the dirt to make sure it was definitely a buried apple.

“So now…” Spencer started but he was immediately cut off by the sound of the trees blowing in the wind from inside the cemetery, slowly making its way toward them. The breeze flurried across the pair for a moment or two before dying down and the air became calm once again. “That was… a coincidence.” He objected before she could speak.

“No, that was nature, thanking us for our offering. Or maybe, it was the spirits of the dead, coming to collect it. Either way, it was something worth enjoying.” She seemed giddy with excitement that that had just happened, as though it meant more to her than she’d let on. “I need to level with you. The reason we came so far out, to this cemetery, is because I lost a friend, a long time ago. And she’s buried in this cemetery…. She was the one who showed me this life and I like to think that my offering is for her, to say thank you.” Spencer looked at her empathetically. “And what’s amazing is, that in four years, even with you here, she’s never failed to thank me back somehow, with little signs like that.”

Every fibre of his being wanted to explain away all of what she just said, but the human in him wouldn’t allow it. He understood the feeling of not being able to let go of someone completely, wanting them to still be with you somehow. Instead, he smiled warmly, placing a hand on her shoulder as she looked back through the railings.

The moment continued on for what seemed like minutes but in actual fact it was only a few seconds. Anwyn was lost in thoughts and memories while all Spencer could do was be there for the return journey. Once snapped back to reality, she turned to him, clearing her throat and trying to dismiss her clear emotional release.

“Ok, erm… now we, er… now we go home.” Spencer looked concerned.

“Are you ok?” He leaned closer. “If you wanna go home, it’s fine.” Anwyn smiled, realising he’d got the wrong end of the stick.

“It’s ok, the next part is at home.” Spencer felt a little silly, retracting and brushing his hair behind his ear. “C’mon, let's go.” She rose to her feet, taking his hand and guiding him to do the same. The affection of it made them both smile, making them wordlessly agree not to let go as they walked back through the suburbs and towards home.

~

Anwyn opened the window as wide as she could, letting the room fill with the cool night air. The candles on the side table flickered with the change of air pressure but stayed lit as she moved back towards Spencer. In her hands was a white yankee candle, set in a deep, clear glass.

“This candle will be lit and placed in the open west window, to help guide the spirits home.” She reached out, handing the candle to Spencer. He accepted the candle, picking up a long match from the box on the table before striking it against the side. Tipping the glass sideways, he allowed the flame of the match to meet the candle wick, holding it there till the flame was able to build. As he drew the match from the glass, he shook it to extinguish the flame.

Spencer looked to Anwyn, who nodded to him, letting him know it was ok to continue as he strode toward the window, placing the candle on the ledge. The flame flickered and grew as it was able to feed on the purer air of the night. The pair watched the flame for a moment before Spencer turned to Anwyn.

“What next?” He asked, respectfully. Anwyn didn’t answer, instead she reached into her back and pulled out a picture frame before walking back to the side table. In the frame was an old photograph of her and another young woman, smiling and enjoying each other’s company.

“We used to spend hours together each day, whether we were hanging out or just talking on the phone. I miss her every day, and even though they say time heals all wounds, her departure still cuts deep. My only consolation is that she taught me that life goes on and that the spirits of those who’ve passed will remain with us in one way or another, so long as you keep the memory alive.” Anwyn placed the frame on the table between the centre piece and one of the candles before turning to Spencer, her eyes were red and her cheeks had puffed up as she began to cry, but still she smiled. “Amy was my best friend, and I have so much to thank her for.” Spencer smiled back to her, realising it was his turn.

Stepping forward, he reached into his satchel and pulled out an item that remained with him always. He looked down at the copy of ‘The Narrative of John Smith’, opening it to the inscription that had been left inside.

"Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone. We find it with another." He read out the quote from inside. “She was the one person who’d truly understood, giving me hope that there really was someone that I’d be truly happy with. I… I can’t begin to explain how much she meant to me, or how much losing her destroyed me for so long.” He closed the book, pausing, reluctant to let go of it and place it on the table but he knew that if she really was there with them that it was a way of him speaking to her one more time. “Maeve was… was the one person I’d have given everything for, but it was her that gave everything for me.” He placed the book to the other side of the centre piece to the frame, smiling at the thought that he was honouring her.

Spencer turned back to Anwyn, who was still crying, only to realise that a tear had started to roll down his own cheek. She stepped towards him, slowly wrapping her arms around his sides to hold onto him, resting her head on his chest. The affection seemed to make him feel a little better as he held her to his chest.

“Thank you, Anwyn.” He said softly “It means a lot.”

“No, thank you for doing this with me. I’m sorry if it was painful, it’s just… you understand how it feels and I hope this was just as helpful to you.” She pulled away to look up into his eyes. “I… I hope you can find someone who means as much as she did.” He didn’t answer. He just smiled and kissed her forehead, holding her close once more.


	4. Chapter 4

“Stop laughing, I’m being serious.” Anwyn exclaimed with frustration. “I’m trying to help you.” She tried again to hand him the items but he refused to take them. 

Spencer had been suffering from a cold for four days now and had been taking in as much vitamin C as anyone humanly could. There were empty cartons, crushed and stacked high in his recycling and a whole shelf in his refrigerator had been invaded by full ones.

Anwyn had had enough of hearing him cough and splutter and complain about over the counter relief so had decided that she would step in with her own remedy which didn’t involve self-medicating. In her hand were three items, a small blue candle in what could have previously been a shot glass, a small bottle of eucalyptus oil and a small jar of powdered ginger.

“Firstly, I’d feel silly lighting a candle to have a bath in the dark. Secondly, how is this supposed to fight the virus which is inside my body? I mean there are no antiviral elements to any of these things.” Spencer fought back, being almost rude in his assumptions however Anwyn let it slide, knowing that he was in fact ill and that it may well be just as much the cold talking as anything else.

“Seriously, Spencer, I just want to help. I wouldn’t be offering this if I didn’t think it worked, you just have to be open minded and hope that Raphael will answer your prayers.” This had been the final straw.

“Oh, you want me to pray to an Angel now too? Anwyn, it’s sweet that you’re trying to help but talking to myself in the bathtub while making myself smell like baked treats isn’t going to make me feel any better.” He sniffed hard, feeling the horrid pressure build in his sinuses as he did so. 

“I just need to rest and consume vitamin C and if it gets worse, then I’ll see a doctor. No offense… but I think I wanna lay down now.”

A wave of both anger and emotion set over her, wanting so badly to react to him for speaking to her like that, but what had hit her more was that he’d never ever spoken to her in a manner anywhere near that level of disrespect. Sure, he’d poked jokes at her magic and often shown signs of disbelief but to outright throw it back at her was something completely new. She stood there as the door of his apartment closed on her, feeling the sting of what had just happened and recoiling.

But what could she do? He’d been right, in a way, because this was her belief that she was forcing upon him, even if she meant well.

Then the idea struck her. Spencer had his belief and she had hers, but she still cared for him to the point she wished she could be in there taking care of him. She couldn’t just sit back and do nothing, and she wasn’t going to.

Pulling out her phone and tapping the screen, she opened up her messenger in which the group chat with the girls took place, typing frantically.

‘I know this is short notice but I was hoping we could get together quickly. I need to help someone who can’t help themselves.’

There was a pause. Nothing happened for a few moments, then a bubble appeared with loading dots to indicate someone was typing.

“I can swing by your place in an hour. Do we need anything?” – Aiden.

That was one of them, at least. Anwyn hoped the other might reply soon too but in the meantime she answered.

‘I’m pretty sure I have everything we’ll need. Thank you for doing this so short notice.’ Slowly, she headed to the stairs, still looking down at the screen as the typing dots reappeared.

“Cool, no worries. Sisters always answer when the call is made.” – Aiden

This made Anwyn smile as she took the first few steps, still looking at the screen. She’d never have thought in all her life she’d be so close to these girls, even when Amy had introduced them as ‘destined to meet’ because of their names. Aiden had always joked that they should have been the ones that had a TV show, seeing as they were first alphabetically. ‘Screw Phoebe, Piper and Paige, we’re so much cooler’ was often Aiden’s exclamation.

“I’ll aim for the same time. See you girls soon.” – Allison

“You need a ride?” – Aiden

“That’d be even better.” – Allison

“Be with you in 45! ♥” – Aiden

Anwyn chuckled as she reached the bottom of the stairs and turned toward her apartment, typing one final reply.

‘I love you guys. ♥’ With that, she tucked her phone back into her pocket, pulled out her key and slid it into the lock to let herself in.

~

It was such a warm embrace that Anwyn couldn’t bear to let go, holding one arm around Aiden and one around Allison, nestling herself in the middle. She held on so long that it had started to become a little awkward and Aiden was the first to pull away.

The joke was that Aiden had always been the guy of the group, tending to shrug off outward affection as well as being slightly tomboyish. That was not to say she was uncaring or unfeminine. She had short, blonde hair, wore obscure band t-shirts and preferred a beer over a glass of wine but when it came down to it she was just as feminine as any other woman beneath the surface. It probably came from having four older brothers.

Allison was the absolute opposite. The girly girl of the group. Her phone case was glitter and sparkles, which left a pixie dust trail if she ever put it down. Which was quite rare. This meant that among everything and just below the kitchen sink, her bag was full of residual glitter which managed to get everywhere. She was mostly happy and very excitable, and to Aiden’s annoyance, sometimes very affectionate.

The trio shared a broad smile as Anwyn beckoned her friends inside and closed the door behind them.

“So, did we all enjoy Samhain?” Allison asked brightly. “I don’t think we’ve seen each other since before then.” Anwyn nodded, continuing to smile but Aiden asked a follow up, knowing the true reason for the question.

“Did it happen?” Anwyn’s smile dissipated as the question arrived, thinking back to her old friend rather than the presence of her new one. She nodded slowly, shrinking away for a moment but Aiden’s smile brought her round.

“We offered gifts to the dead, like I usually do and… well… there wasn’t any wind until we’d buried the apples, and it stopped the moment the gust reached us from inside the cemetery.” Anwyn explain as she had pretty much every year. Amy’s death had hit her hardest and the two of them often left her to grieve on her own as she preferred it. However, the wind wasn’t what they picked up on.

“We?” asked Allison with a smirk. Aiden folded her arms and stood firm with her, joining in with her smirk. Anwyn turned pink with embarrassment as she was put on the spot.

“I… er…. A friend. Well, technically he’s my neighbour.” She pointed up to the ceiling. “He didn’t know much about what we do and I wanted him to see how I celebrate Samhain. It seemed to really be good for him, seeing as he’s more of a science man.” Allison about turned giddy at the mention of this new friend being a man.

“So, is this new boyfriend of yours the subject of our meeting?” Aiden grinned as the trio moved over to the centre of the room.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Anwyn answered quickly, a little too quickly. Even she thought she sounded defensive. “But yes, he’s not well and I wanted to help out…. And since he’s a non-believer he didn’t seem too keen in asking Raphael himself.” 

Anwyn had cleared a space in the middle of the room to use for the magic, laying out a cloth mat to work on. The three sat in a circle, facing inward as they sat around the blue candle, jar of powdered ginger, rag doll and old penny.

“Ok, so first we make him feel better but then we get to meet him.” Aiden said, raising an eyebrow as she looked across at Anwyn. In turn, all three of them leaned forward, taking up some of the powdered ginger in their left hand and sprinkling it into an arc toward the person to their left.

“Maybe once he’s fully recovered. If he meets you two in his current state I don’t think he’ll make it.” Anwyn joked as the three arcs joined to create a circle, taking up the doll in her right hand.

“Deal, I’d want to give him a fighting chance.” Allison chuckled as she took up the unlit, blue candle in her right hand.

“Well, if he managed to pull our sister’s nose out of a book long enough to notice, he must’ve done something right.” Aiden joked, taking up the old penny in her left hand and smirking to her friend once more. Anwyn rolled her eyes and sighed as she raised the doll out into the middle of the circle and looked up to the ceiling where Spencer potentially was.

“Figure of cloth, heed my will. Become the man we wish to heal.” Anwyn began the incantation, picturing Spencer in her mind before placing the doll near the centre of the circle. Both Allison and Anwyn looked to Aiden for her part as she raised the penny above the doll in her left hand. The pair then placed their left hands on Aiden’s, connecting the three.

“Healing metal, with the power to mend. Bring his pain and sickness to an end.” Together, the three lowered the penny down, placing it on the doll’s chest before retracting from the circle.

Finally, Aiden and Anwyn looked to Allison, who would play the last part in the magic as she held out the candle and her lighter.

“We will it so, with this spell. May he be happy, healthy and well.” With that, she lit the candle and placed it beside the doll in the middle of the circle. The glow of the flame flickered with the movement and then settled, softly illuminating the doll. The trio paused, all of them watching as the wax around the wick started to melt and pool.

Anwyn was about to speak when a thud and crashing sound came from above them, causing the three to look up at the ceiling. A further few thuds followed as the sounds seemed to move off toward the bathroom. Anwyn, Aiden and Allison looked to each other, shocked and worried, as if they’d potentially done something wrong. What if they’d accidentally hurt him or made him worse? They’d tried several times to perform this ritual for Amy but to no avail, what if this was a repercussion? The horrid pause continued as they all listened for anything they could from the apartment above. Moments passed until suddenly, the sound of heavy coughing could be heard.

All three of the girls scrambled to their feet, heading for the door as quickly as they could. The door flew open and they were off up the stairs without touching the floor in the hallway, bounding up two to three steps at a time before flying at Spencer’s door and knocking loudly.

“Spencer? We heard something. Are you ok!?” Anwyn’s voice boomed through the door, filled with fear and concern. The other two stood behind her, looking how Anwyn’s voice sounded. “Spencer!?” Came her voice again, followed by shuffling from within the apartment.

The door opened and Spencer was met with the sight of the three ladies, standing in fear of what might have happened. Anwyn leaped forwards, wrapping her arms around him in relief before he could even comprehend what was going on, let alone object to it.

“What… what’s going on?” Spencer asked, completely bemused by the affection but it was Aiden who spoke first.

“Hi, we’re friends of Annie’s and we were all in her apartment when we heard a lot of noise from up here. She got worried and we came up to see if you were ok.”

“I… felt like I… ummm…. I’m not well.” Spencer responded awkwardly as Anwyn finally pulled away. “But I kinda feel a little better now.”

“Oh, how so?” Asked Allison brightly, causing even more confusion to Spencer.

“I… I guess I had a lot on my chest and I had to scramble to the bathroom to get rid of it.” The trio looked at each other as it all made sense.

“Well, you’re welcome.” Aiden exclaimed joyfully before been shot a dark look by Anwyn and an even more confused look from Spencer.

“Wait… what?”


	5. Chapter 5

Anwyn closed the door with a gentle click, turning around sheepishly and smiling. It’d been a strange night but one they’d not soon forget, especially when, what had started out as friends meeting a friend of a friend, turned into the Spanish Inquisition. Aiden had practically pinned him into the corner and stopped just short of asking him for two references from current and former employers. The smile on his face was telling her that he’d enjoyed their time together but she couldn’t help but feel extremely guilty all the same.

“I’m so sorry about my friends, I’d no idea they’d set upon you like that.” She begged forgiveness, but Spencer just laughed.

“Honestly, it’s not a problem, if anything it’s endearing. They care about you enough to make sure I’m on the level.” He was right, in a way it was sweet of them but there’d been some extremely awkward moments, especially when Allison had asked about previous girlfriends.

Anwyn wandered back over to sit on his sofa with him, having already invaded his apartment it seemed a moot point to wait for an invitation to get comfortable. That was when the thought occurred to her.

“I hope we didn’t overstep the mark, performing a spell to try and help you. You just seemed to be suffering so much.” Spencer chuckled lightly at the apology.

“Of course not, I mean…” He sighed. “Without meaning to offend you, I still can’t fully understand or appreciate it, which is my fault I just… I can’t help but know that it was biology not magicology that improved my health.” Anwyn rolled her eyes and looked at him.

“Can you hear yourself?”

“Yeah, I…”  
“Exactly, I could barely hear you earlier because your throat was so dry and raspy but now it’s clear, and you’re saying our magic helped nothing?”

“I never said that, I’m sure there were psychological benefits to it.” Anwyn glared at him for that response but he smiled to her again “Thank you though. Because, regardless of whether or not I believe in it, it was a wonderful thing to do for me.” She smiled back, nudging him playfully.

“I know that deep down you don’t believe that there’s a place for magic in the world.” She started but he stopped her from going any further.

“I’ll have you know that I have my very own magic.” He chuckled, nudging her playfully but she looked back with only confusion.

“I thought you said you were a man of science.” She said as he stood up and wandered to a drawer, shuffling around within it and looking for something he’d not seen in a while.

“I am, this is physics magic. Something I’ve been doing for a long time but…” Finally, he pulled a small plastic capsule out from the drawer. “I’ve been making it more and more spectacular over time.”

Anwyn watched with utter curiosity as he wandered to the other side of the room, taking up a cup that he’d left and placing it on one of the side tables before disappearing into the kitchen. The sound of cupboards and drawers being opened and closed as he looked for things drifted through into his living room as his captive audience awaited. When he finally returned, he walked over and sat back down, placing the capsule on the coffee table with the lid facing upward.

“Now, I’m going to turn over this pod, and when I snap my fingers it will throw itself over our heads and into the cup over there.” Anwyn smiled at him, very sceptical that he was able to perform this kind of magic but still curious as to what was about to happen. “I’d like you to say a few words of magic, maybe throw in some good luck too because this has gone wrong a few times.” Now she was more worried.

“I er… hmmm, ok.” She thought for a moment. “Ok… Spirit of air, I call upon thee. Let this move up, to be flown free.”

“Nice,” Spencer smirked. “I might have to write that down for next time.” 

And with that, he looked back to the pot, turning it over so that it rested on its lid. He paused, holding his hand over the pot as if waiting for the right moment to click his fingers. “I have to let it build with the energy of your words.” He said quietly as the edges of the lid started to bubble and hiss. Was it really working?

Suddenly, Spencer clicked his fingers and the body of the capsule popped off the lid with a band and flew through the air over their heads, just as he’d said it would. The pair watched in amazement as it arced over the room, flipping as it went and heading straight toward the cup he’d positioned. It was actually doing as he’d said, much to Anwyn’s astonishment but as it got closer something was wrong. The capsule clipped the side of the cup, bouncing away and landing on the floor rather than going into the cup.

“That was amazing!” Anwyn exclaimed. “Shame it didn’t go where you said it would.”

“I think that was less the magic or the science and more just my aim.” He replied, looking at the remains of the capsule as it spun on the hardwood of the floor. “That’s actually the closest I’ve gotten.” As he turned around he was met by Anwyn, who’d leaned much closer to him.

“You know, even though you say you’re a man of science and you don’t fully believe in what I do… no one’s ever just accepted it anyway. They’ve always tried to change it or get rid of it but not you. Thank you.” She placed her lips gently against his, kissing him softly and warmly. A long moment passed without their lips parting and Spencer’s hand moved to cup her cheek lightly before pulling away and looking into her eyes.

“I… I didn’t need thanking, I just….”

“Well, I wanted to thank you, and maybe… maybe use it as an excuse to do that.” She smiled broadly at the forwardness of it, panicking heavily on the inside that his next words were going to ask her not to do that again.

“What if… you… didn’t need an excuse?” He said, automatically reeling as if he knew she’d ‘cherish his friendship’.

“I think I’d like that very much.” She replied, turning bright pink. “I mean, we already went for coffee.”

“Well when you put it that way…” He started but was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing in his pocket, which in turn caused him to sigh at what that most likely meant. Pulling it from his pocket, he looked at the screen to see who it was, frowning when his fears were confirmed.

“Something wrong?” Asked Anwyn, who’d gauged the look on his face.

“Not wrong just… inconvenient.” He hit the answer button and placed the phone to his ear. “Hey Garcia…. Yep… Mhmm…. Got it, see you in 20” Anwyn looked at him in even more confusion.

“What’s going on?” She asked as he started to stand in a hurry, following suit as it sank in that their evening was about to come to an abrupt end.

“I’m being called in, there’s a case… I have to go, Morgan will be picking me up on the way…” He paused looking to her as he’d started gathering up his bag and coat. “I’m really sorry, this happens sometimes.” Anwyn was caught completely on the back foot, shaking her head but still not quite following.

“It’s ok… er… no… go, go...” She started but her expression froze when she saw him clip his gun to his belt. “Oh… I didn’t realise…” Spencer hadn’t noticed what it was she was looking at, he’d been too busy collecting himself and rushing toward the door. Anwyn followed, not wishing to overstay when he left and before she knew it she was standing in the hallway as he was locking his door.

“Spencer, please be careful.” She said finally as he turned to use the stairs, making him stop in his tracks. The memory of him describing his work, coupled with the image of him standing before her with a gun at his waist made her somewhat uneasy but then this was his life. Spencer nodded, smiling warmly before moving back towards her.

“I’ll do my best.” He said, leaning in and kissing her cheek. “I’ll let you know what I’m coming back.”

“So, not tonight then?” She asked as he moved toward the stairs again.

“Most likely not, probably a couple days, maybe even a week depending on where the case is and how it goes.”

“Oh…” Was the final word spoken between them as Spencer disappeared beyond the railing and down to the floor below.

The corridor suddenly felt very empty, cold and uninviting, like someone had switched off the heat and left open the window. Anwyn stood for a moment or two, still unable to fully comprehend the suddenness of his departure. She felt like he’d been ripped from her just as something was starting to grow between them. Would that mean that she’d never truly have his attention and that he could be pulled away from her at any moment like that? The thought was unnerving but deep down she knew that he was helping people, and that was much more important than whether or not she got to spend the rest of the evening with him.

To help settle her mind, she pulled out her phone, opening the messaging app and scrolled down to his name. Chuckling at the last conversation for a moment, she started typing. 

‘Go get the bad guys. Do what you do best and help someone that needs you more than me right now. Karma will thank you soon enough. ♥’

The night air hit Spencer the moment he opened the door as the wind nipped harshly at his skin. Waiting for him was the dark SUV, which would lead him to his second home at the FBI offices, but sadly away from Anwyn. Just as he approached the door, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, pulling it out to read it as he slid into the seat beside Derek.

“Anything important?” Asked Derek, noticing the phone.

“Oh… er… yeah, just a social thing but… yeah.” He smiled brightly to let his friend know that whatever it was it was a good thing. “Do we know where we’re headed?”

“Birmingham, Alabama.” Derek said as he started to pull away. He’d continued to explain the details that he’d already been given but Spencer was completely distracted in replying to Anwyn. “Hey, Reid. You alright?”

“Huh?” He looked up from his phone. “Oh, yeah. I was just in the middle of something, but you know… duty calls.” Derek smirked.

“That so?” He chuckled lightly. “Yeah, that’s something you never get used to. Part of the sacrifices we make to save the day, kid.” Spencer nodded, watching the street lights go by.

“I suppose you’re right.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the gap between posting chapters, I went away on a little adventure :)

Standing over the scenes no longer seemed to phase Spencer too much, which often made him question just how attached or detached he might be. Twelve years of looking at similar sights of blood and bodies and hidden details didn’t make him lose focus or even feel like he’d lost compassion in any way, but immunity comes from repeated exposure.

Something was different this time though. It was almost like his head was mostly in the case but his heart wasn’t, leading him to become distracted several times, which Morgan had noticed.

“You alright, kid?” He asked during one particular distracted moment.

“I’m… I’m fine, just tired. I wasn’t feeling too well this weekend.” Morgan only partially accepted the excuse.

“You know, if it’s about whatever you were pulled away from…”

“No really,” Spencer smiled in thanks. “There’s nothing bad going on, I’m just… tired, like I said.”

“There someone I should know about?” Morgan asked with a stupid grin.

“What? No. What made you think that?” He tried to feign genuine confusion.

“Coz you can’t play a player.” Morgan’s grin broadened as he shifted stance, making Spencer smile as he joked.

“It’s nothing really, just a new girl moved into the apartment below me and she’s been really friendly.”

“Aaahh, so it’s like that is it? What d’you two do? Read together?” Morgan joked, making Spencer laugh. “C’mon, what? You nerd out over Dr.Who? Coz you know Garcia would blow her lid if she found out you were seeing another fan.” Spencer all but cracked up but quickly stifled, remembering he was at a crime scene.

“Well, she liked my magic trick.” He said with almost self-surprise.

“You manage to get it in the cup yet?”

“Almost, it hit the edge, but she was still impressed.”

“My man!” Morgan exclaimed happily, ushering Spencer away from the scene. “I mean, do you like her?”

“I… I well… it’s not like that, really, but… I think the main thing we have in common is that neither of us are really like other people.”

“You two sound absolutely perfect for each other, just saying.” Said as they approached the SUV.

“Did you know that there are people who believe our souls are half of a whole entity and that yours searches for its other half, otherwise known as its soulmate. It’s commonly used to explain why people seem ‘perfect’ for each other.” Derek stopped, looking at Spencer while leaning on the door of the SUV, without saying a word. Spencer brushed his hair behind his ear and looked away for a moment. “I just proved your point, didn’t I?”

“Uh-huh.” Smiled Derek as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “You know, if you really feel like making her day, you should just text her or something, let her know you’re thinking of her.”

It made sense. He had been thinking of her a lot, not knowing if it was how much he liked her or if this was the excitement of a new… whatever it really was. Sitting back, he was able sink into the seat as they headed back to meet up with the others. His hand slid into his pocket, reaching to pull out his phone which lit up upon hitting the home button. Scrolling to the messaging app, he opened his conversation with Anwyn and keyed in a message to her, smiling as he did.

~

“So he just walked out?” Aiden exclaimed in shock. “What a…”

“It’s not like that, I knew he couldn’t help it, it was just… disappointing, you know?” Anwyn retorted, shifting in her seat. She’d invited the girls back after they spammed her in their group text chat for information on what had happened after they left. As per usual, Aiden had gotten very defensive of Anwyn but Allison saw the romantic side of it.

“Well, I think it makes him a little mysterious.” Allison’s smile as she spoke made it look like she was retaining a giggle. “I mean come on, he saves lives. He’s an agent AND a doctor!”

“Wrong kind of doctor, sweets.” Aiden put in with a hint of salt. Anwyn pulled up her legs, folding them underneath herself to get comfortable as Aiden’s distaste of the situation was turning sour.

“I could see it in his eyes, he clearly felt bad and didn’t seem to wanna go.”

“Have you heard from him since he left?” Aiden asked poignantly, causing Anwyn to shift in her seat a little more out of embarrassment. She tried desperately to think of another retort but nothing came quick enough. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off before she could start by the beeping of her phone. Everyone stopped in their tracks, frozen except for the movement of Anwyn taking her phone from her pocket.

“Ah, yes he has.” She said excitedly, turning the phone around for them to see. “How was that for a connection?” She said with a little sass in her voice before opening the message.

“Just thought I’d check in, let you know I’m staying safe and that I was thinking of you. Also Morgan says hi.” – Spencer

“Aww, he’s checking in to let me know that he’s still safe and he’s thinking of me…” One of her eyebrow’s raised. “And apparently, Morgan says hi?”

“Who’s Morgan?” Asked Allison.

“One of his co-workers I guess?”

“See, Aiden, even the universe disagrees with you. You can’t deny it.” Allison said as a smirk grew across Aiden’s face.

“Ok, I’ll give him that, at least he’s thought of you enough to do that.” Her smirk broadened. “He’s not all bad.”

Anwyn sighed, staring at the message and knowing that he’d know she’d read it. A reply was the last thing she could think of right now but she couldn’t not reply. How was she supposed to work this out?

“What do I say? I have no idea.” She exclaimed, looking to the others for help but Aiden’s wide eyes suggested she was none the wiser either.

“Just let him know you’re glad he’s ok and that you hope to see him soon.” Allison beamed as she spoke, both excited for her friend and glad to be helping. Anwyn looked back to her phone, still pausing before she started typing.

~

The SUV rolled up to the parking bay of the local PD station with the lightest of squeaks of the breaks. Spencer hadn’t spoken for the entire short journey but Morgan understood, knowing that the longer there was no reply the more nervous he’d become. He sighed as he turned the key, feeling the engine rumble out.

“You know, people get busy, Reid. Just because she hasn’t immediately replied, it doesn’t mean she isn’t going to.” Morgan said calmly before undoing his seat belt.

“I know, I just… This is strange territory for me. I actually feel more like I’m out in open water right now.” Spencer looked to his friend. “You’re more experienced with this kind of thing. For us mere social mortals, does this feeling of vulnerability go away?”

“Kid,” Morgan chuckled. “Trust me, nobody really knows what they’re doing, some of us are just a lot better at winging it than others… But you will be fine, so don’t worry.”

Spencer was about to say something else while he still could but the beep of his phone distracted him. Morgan shot him one last charismatic and almost omnipotent smile before sliding out of the door, giving his friend some privacy.

“I’m so glad you’re ok. Not really used to having to worry about things like that. I hope I get to see you soon, keep catching the bad guys and saving the day. Also, tell Morgan that the girls and I say hi back.” – Anwyn.

He’d barely read the first sentence before he’d broke out in a huge smile as the feeling of excitement hit him once again. Morgan was probably right, these things were for each person to figure out with each new interaction but at the end of the day he’d be fine.

Spencer was so caught up in the joy of her reply that he’d completely forgotten the next daunting task of figuring out what to say back. Not only that but he’d have to think of it alone, and quickly. Taking in a deep breath, he calmed himself, tucked his hair behind his ear and started typing… then deleting and retyping. It took several attempts, and if Anwyn had been looking at the messaging app she’d have seen the typing indicator flip-flop till he finally hit send. 

Finally, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and undid his seatbelt so that he could exit the vehicle and return to the others.

~

Anwyn wrapped her arms warmly around both of her friends, smiling broadly as the hug was reciprocated by both Aiden and Allison. Since Allison didn’t drive and Aiden had to leave for work soon, it had called an end to their small get together.

“I will text you when I’m on my break. Assuming I get one this time.” Aiden said with a hint of saltiness. “I wanna know what he says.”

“Oh, me too. Don’t leave me out of the loop.” Allison butt in.

“Fine.” Anwyn feigned a sigh. “I’ll hit up the group chat if anything interesting happens.” She continued as she let go of the embrace, looking at Aiden and Allison in turn. “You guys take care, ok?”

“You too, sweetness.” Allison said, beaming as she and Aiden headed for the stairs. Anwyn closed the door gently, letting the latch clack softly into place before turning and leaning against the door. The fact that her friends shared in her excitement over the potential she and Spencer might have was very reassuring, especially with his sudden departure knocking her confidence in the situation. Admitting that would have been even harder but it was clear that Aiden had picked up on it very quickly, causing her to react the way she did. Aiden was protective by nature but sweet at heart, so it was no surprise either.

The sudden bleep of Anwyn’s phone startled her somewhat, her thoughts wandering before being snapped back to reality. Immediately, she pulled the phone from her pocket and examined the message.

“This case seems pretty cut and dry, hopefully means I’ll be back to see you tomorrow night. You should know I have a great team, and I’m as safe with them as I possibly can be. I’ll be heading back to the hotel in an hour or so, and if you didn’t mind, I’d like to call just to speak to you. Talk soon!” – Spencer.

Anwyn smiled again, loving the idea of them talking on the phone for a long while before bed. She’d almost glazed over the time stamp on the message in her excitement, which said that the message had been sent just over an hour ago. Panic set in as she hurriedly tried to prepare herself for such an occurrence, grabbing her tea from the coffee table and shuffling through to her bedroom. Her behind had barely hit the heavy winter duvet when her phone started to ring, setting in further panic till she hit the answer button. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to help keep calm before speaking.

“Hello?...”


	7. Chapter 7

The dim light of the bedside lamp cast mild shadows over the pale textured walls of the rather modest looking hotel room. The walls were and side tables were blank and impersonal, however, the warm, pale colours were calming and inviting. The colour scheme continued to the bed, with darker yet still warm coloured sheets, which threatened to engulf anyone who dared slip between them. The duvet was clearly meant for winter but the temperature of the room was less than chilly, in fact the air outside had been mild for this late on in November, making Spencer believe that the thickness of the duvets might cause him some trouble sleeping.

Right now, though, he was sitting at the dressing table, staring at his phone. It’d been exactly fifty seven minutes since he’d text her back saying that he’d call her in an hour and in his mind there was a war raging. 

Could he just call? Should he call at exactly one hour? Or should he wait till it was a few minutes after the hour mark had passed? The social etiquette on these things was a little blurry but his main concerns were her actually being available to talk or worse, if he waited and left her waiting too.

The glow from the screen illuminated his thumb as it hovered over her name, seeming to glow brighter the closer it got either threatening or encouraging him to call. Spencer’s lips pursed as he glared at the phone, as if he were willing her to call him instead and take away the pressure of being the one to call. If only she could sense his anxiety.

Suddenly, the time in the corner of his screen clicked forward a minute, causing him to panic as if he weren’t expecting it. Fifty eight minutes had now passed. Was it acceptable yet? He really couldn’t tell, he just hoped she wasn’t sitting with her phone doing something similar. In actual fact he was pretty sure she wasn’t doing the same as he was, he was sure she’d be busy and he’d likely call and she’d not answer or it would take a few agonising moments of listening to the phone ring before she picked up.

Spencer’s palms grew clammy just thinking of the agony of listening to the phone ring off, wondering if panic would set in then too, causing him to hang up prematurely. That would be embarrassing, but why was he obsessing? This was worse than the time he tried to fill in the crossword of his latest subscription newspaper at four in the morning and it’d taken him nearly three minutes, which was quite distressing. Could it be that he was so focused on doing the correct thing that he was actually mentally blocking himself from just being able to enjoy this? Derek was right. He’d be fine, so long as he just continued to be himself as he had been over the last couple of weeks.

Click. Fifty nine minutes since he sent the text. Spencer closed his eyes while the thoughts of doubt rushed in again, asking questions like ‘If I call at fifty nine minutes it, will it make me look like I was sitting waiting for the exact minute and got impatient?’ It wasn’t until he realised two things at once that he calmed, suddenly at great ease of the situation. Firstly, Anwyn probably wasn’t comparing the time that he text to the time that he called, therefore it didn’t matter. Secondly, the tolerance of time set on his phone compared to her phone could be out by a couple of minutes, so in actual fact, no one would ever be any of the wiser.

Click. One hour exactly. Screw it. His thumb hit the call button and he quickly put the phone to his ear, dreading the thought of what could happen but either way it was too late. The phone rang out its sequence, once, twice then almost a third time but cut out as if he’d lost connection. There was just silence. Panic didn’t even describe what hit him as a million scenarios, the most prominent being that she’d closed his call. Then suddenly…

“Hello?” Came the familiar voice down the phone line, sending a wave of relief from top to toe.

“Hey there, Anwyn.” Spencer said with utter joy in his face but trying to mask it in his voice as he stood from the dressing table and wandered to the bed. “I’m sorry for cutting and running on you, just… it happens.”

“No, no, it’s ok. Promise.” Came the tinny, slightly muffled voice. “You have to do your job, otherwise bad people hurt good people.” He smiled at her sense of his heroism, sliding onto the bed and getting comfortable.

“So, er… how was your day?” Spencer’s shoulders rested against the headboard while his feet crossed themselves at the opposite end of the bed.

“It was good, I got to spend some time with the girls… You may have come up.”

“Oh really?” Spencer chuckled. “All good things, I hope.” There was a pause before she sighed.

“Aiden didn’t really understand the up and leaving thing but she got over it when you text to check in. They both thought it was sweet. I thought it was sweet.” Her tone changed to a slightly lighter one. “By the way, who’s Morgan?”

“Oh, that’s just Derek, one of my team. He may have talked me off a small panic attack that could have kicked in when I started thinking about how I just walked out on you.” That sounded over dramatic… “I mean, not a literal one, just… you know.”

“Aww, Spencer. You needn’t worry about that. I get it. Really, I do.” She laughed lightly. “Although, you do have one unfair advantage.”

“What’s that?” He asked, frowning a little in confusion.

“Well, you get to ask about my day and other small talk but I’m sure if I wanted to ask most of that stuff the answer would be ‘I can’t tell you that’ or ‘that’s classified’.” She joked and Spencer smirked to himself.

“Well, not quite. I mean, there’s a lot we do that we have to make public to assist the case and to warn people of what to look out for.” Spencer adjusted, leaning the phone on his shoulder so that he could brush his hair behind the opposite ear then pick at his nails. “In fact, even though most hotlines bring in more than ninety percent useless information, the remaining good information can be exactly what it takes to progress a case. Proved mostly by a case we had last year when a witness came forward with the information that solved one case while also giving himself away as the unsub involved in several other missing persons cases.”

“Wow, that’s pretty good. I always imagined that most of those hotlines would be inundated with people just making your jobs harder.”

“In some cases, yes, but in a lot of serial murder cases, the personality of the killer will drive him to insert himself into the investigation, making them highly likely to call the hotline themselves. They might not give themselves away in an obvious manner but it’s led to the solving of a few cases in my time at the BAU.”

“So… The case you’re on now. Is it… you know… is it really bad? I mean, of course it’s bad, otherwise you wouldn’t be there… I just…”

“I know what you mean.” He said, saving her from re-figuring her question. “It’s always a challenge and it’s always upsetting for you but… there are cases that can get to you a lot more than others. Not to take away from the suffering but this isn’t one of those cases. Did that answer your question?”

“I… I think so. I just can’t imagine doing what you do, seeing the things you see and still having such faith in people.”

“I feel it, sometimes. Thinking the worst of people but… when you see what people can do for each other when they need it most… it kinda reaffirms your faith in humanity. It seems like people can really shine in the darkest times.”

“That’s sweet.” There was a pause as she thought to herself. “You know, what magic has taught me is that there are no good or evil people, just good or evil actions and we all have the power to do either.” Spencer chuckled to himself, knowing what she meant, that deep down we’re all capable of good.

“Experience has taught me that some people just can’t know the difference. I know that some people have different brain chemistry to the rest of us, making them unable to see or even feel what most should. Some people just need help.” Her smile was all but audible, hearing his compassion for even those who do terrible things.

“Do… do you think that you’ll be coming back soon?” Her question gave her away. She was clearly missing him but afraid to seem jealous of something much more important than herself. The honest truth was that he didn’t know, not really. Spencer paused for a long while, wishing that he could say something other than what he had to.

“I don’t know.” His mind raced through the details of the current case. “I…” His eye’s glanced side to side as he thought.

“Spencer? What is it?” Anwyn’s voice was puzzled yet concerned but Spencer wasn’t listening, his focus was completely elsewhere. “Spencer, talk to me.”

“Anwyn, you are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.” The atmosphere lifted somewhat, causing Anwyn to laugh. Spencer shuffled forward frantically, trying to get up from the bed to check on the thought.

“I know that but… why?” She asked, trying to figure out what it was she could hear as her eyebrows furrowed. The duvet that had engulfed her like her own personal cloud of comfort fought back as she tried to sit up straight and listen even more intently. “Spencer, what are you talking about?” It was that moment that the realisation dawned on her. 

“I’m not going to get to go to bed talking to you, am I?” There was another rustling sound on the other end of the phone, the sound of paper being moved and a chair being pulled across the floor.

“No, no, I’m here.” He assured her but her confidence in it had already waned. The tips of her finger met her lips as her shoulders dropped from disappointment.

“Spencer, I told you. I get it. Your job… it’s going to make things difficult, cutting us off when we’re enjoying ourselves…” Glancing back toward the nightstand, she read her clock and realised that it was getting late. “If you need to go do something, go do it. It’d be bad karma for me to hold you back from saving the day.” The pause on the other end of the phone told her all she needed to know. “Go… go be a hero… just don’t be too much of a hero, stay safe.”

“Thank you, just… I don’t think I’d have seen it without your help. I’ll be sure to tell the team you solved the case for me.” Anwyn smiled broadly, being childishly proud of the action which she knew deep down she never really took but it was nice of him to say. “Goodnight, Anwyn. I will call you when we’re on our way back.”

“Goodnight, Spencer.” The phone lit up, blindingly bright as she pulled it away from her ear, tapping the end call button and smiling. 

The disappointment of him having to leave her hanging yet again was lifted but the sting of it was still there in the back of her mind. Frowning, she leaned down the side of her bed to plug the charger into her phone before pulling the duvet from beneath her and sliding under the sheets.

Curling against the thick, warm blanket and sliding a fold between her knees for comfort while sleeping on her side, she thought about what it might have been that had sparked such a eureka moment. She’d seen him reach an epiphany before and it really didn’t take a lot to help him piece together the most complex of puzzles, to the point she’d never leave her morning paper anywhere near him.

The memory of his quirks made her smile broadly to herself once again, taking comfort in the knowledge that there were people like him in the world acting as a force for good. Her last thoughts before drifting off to sleep had been a wish to any force of magic that might listen to bring him home safely to her. Surely he would… wouldn’t he?


	8. Chapter 8

“Ok, so er… don’t be mad.” Came Spencer’s voice through the phone. It was early. Very early. 

So early that Anwyn wasn’t even sure how she’d answered her phone. The trailing charger cable hung down across the messy sheets, almost like a leash that connected her to the wall, not allowing her to turn back over and get comfortable in the warmth of her duvet.

“Wha… what? What are you talking about?” She stuttered in her groggy state, trying desperately to grasp her own conscious state. The gorgeously warm cloud of duvet threatened to pull her back to the magical world that her phone had dragged her so rudely from but the promise of his presence, even if only by phone was enough to give her the strength to fight it. “I thought this might be you calling to say you were nearly home.”

“Oh, I will be home soon, I just… I need you to not freak out about something.” His voice sounded anxious which filled her with something that was less than confidence. Sitting bolt upright, he finally had her attention as her focus suddenly slammed into gear.

“Freak out about what?” Her mind raced to every single permutation of possibility imaginable, each worse than the last. The thudding in her chest was all but distracting and the hairs standing on the back of her neck sent tingles down her spine.

“It’s not too big a deal, I just… I’m in the hospital.” Four words narrowed her list of permutations down to some of the absolute worst. Raising her free hand to her brow, she pressed and dragged her thumb and middle finger toward the centre of her forehead in a subconscious attempt to relieve the sudden stress of the situation.

“What do you mean you’re in the hospital!? What happened!? Are you ok?” The questions flew from her mouth without a filter, barely stopping for a breath. Anwyn’s demeanour became frantic but with nothing to actually do with her fearful energy.

“I’m… I’m ok, there was just… an incident when we caught the un-sub.” Anwyn paused, frozen by what it might be, waiting for the silence to break with the explanation. “So… I’ve been stabbed. Nothing too serious, it’s only a flesh wound but they said I’ll need to keep my arm in a sling for a little while.”

“Stabbed!? You were stabbed!?” She became almost immediately hysterical. “What happened? Are you ok?”

“I’m fine, honestly. I had to do something, he was going to hurt someone, Anwyn.” The use of her name made it suddenly made it all the more serious. “I’ve got a few stitches and yeah, ok…” There was an audible wince as he’d clearly tried to move his arm. “It hurts but at least no one else got hurt.”

Anwyn let out a long sigh, knowing that he was right and that if he was being allowed to call her that he was alright. Finally relaxing from her tensed state, she slumped back into her pillows, pulling the duvet over herself once more having also realised that it was quite cold.

“When will you be home?” She asked softly.

“We’re leaving on the jet in around an hour and Morgan has said he’d drop me off at home.” Spencer’s voice said, causing her to let out yet another sigh, but this one had been a sigh of relief.

“Call me the moment you are on your way home. I will be looking after you this weekend…”

“An…”

“No arguments.” She cut off his argument. “This is no longer a democracy.” She smiled to herself as she heard him sigh in defeat. The plans in her head were already unfolding, even if it was he that promised to make up for skipping out on her, she would show him that she understood and still cared for him. “Good, call me, Spencer. And can you actually try and be safe this time.”

“What can go wrong now?” He chuckled. “I will see you soon, Anwyn.”

“You too.” And with that she hung up the call, smiling so broadly at the thought of his return. 

She didn’t begrudge his sudden exit after they’d finally gotten somewhere but she had been disappointed and was almost desperate to see it through. Biting softly on her lip, she rolled to her side to put her phone back onto the nightstand before swinging her legs from the warmth and safety of her covers into the harsh, cold and unforgiving air of her bedroom to start her day.

~

The candlelight flickered before her, casting odd shadows against the darkened wall behind her as all three flames danced while she worked. Wax had started to run down the thick bases of each candle in the triangle which surrounded the small grey mortar in the middle of her small alter. Kneeling close, she worked the pestle to crush the dried sage into as fine a powder as she could which made the air thick with it’s scent.

Toward the back of the table were three small, white pots, two of which contained pre-crushed herbs of oregano and hypericum, the third was empty. In a small, clear glass tumbler, there was a measure of clear, pale yellow liquid, which cast a strange almost orange shade as the candle light passed through it to splash the colour against the wall.

The slow, repetitive action was almost therapeutic, calming her nervous excitement at the thought of Spencer being home soon as the pestle clacked against the mortar over and over and over till all that was left was a fine powder. Peering down into the bowl, Anwyn assessed the condition of the sage, tipping it side to side between the candles to make sure that all of it was in fact powdered.

Once she was satisfied, Anwyn tipped the contents of the mortar into the final white pot before removing the mortar and pestle from the table completely. Next, she slid the clear glass into the centre of the triangle, smelling the scent of the yellowy oil with its hint of olive then taking each of the three herbs and tipping them into the oil one by one. First came the hypericum, then the sage and finally the oregano, creating a floating layer of different shades of green powder which she then stirred into the oil until it became a thin, dark green paste.

The mixture did not look appealing in the slightest, nor could she imagine the intensity of the flavours tasting good. The aromas mixed together to create a strong hybrid of scents, filling her nostrils with the smell of the fresh herb patch from which the herbs were collected earlier in the year. Taking her mind back, she let positive thoughts drift into her, imagining everything that made her happy. Her friends, her books, the park where the herb patch lay… Spencer, all of it rushed together but she held the image of Spencer clearly in her mind as she closed her eyes and placed the fingertips of both hands on the edges of the glass. She let the positive energy flow through her, flow from her, down her arms, through her hands to her fingertips and then finally into the glass.

After several moments, she smiled and opened her eyes, looking down to the glass and at the fruits of her labour. It was at that moment that her phone buzzed on the coffee table behind her, snapping her back to the reality of how dark it had become while she’d been working. The phone continued to buzz in its repetitive sequence till she turned around and answered it, leaving the glass tumbler on the altar between the dancing flames.

“Hello?” She answered with a grin.

“We’re here, just coming up the stairs now. Derek insisted on carrying my bag even though I actually have a good free arm.” She smiled at the idea of his reluctance to accept help.

“Well if you accepted pain meds then maybe we wouldn’t be taking the stairs so slowly.” Came a voice that she didn’t recognise and that she could only assume was Derek Morgan, the friend that he had mentioned previously.

“You refused pain medication?” She asked with concern.

“Yes, and with good reason. I refuse to take in any kind of narcotics.” She sighed in both frustration and understanding.

“Ok, well we’ll just have to get you comfortable and make sure you heal up quickly. Tell Mr. Morgan that he can drop you off at my place and I will make sure you are taken care of.” She chuckled to herself before allowing a small smirk to remain on her lips till she heard footsteps coming from the hall.

“Well, we’re here so maybe you can tell him that. His response will be less crude in front of you.” His voice echoed as she was suddenly able to hear a muffled version through the door.

Anwyn clicked off the call and wandered across to the door, pausing with giddy anticipation so that she could look calm and nonchalant when she finally did see him. Her hand reached down to the cold brass handle, twisting it firmly before tugging hard to overcome the stick that she had now become familiar with. As the door drew back she felt the handle on her excitement slip, so much so that by the time the door was fully open and she saw his wide faced smile beaming at her she couldn’t help but throw her arms around him. The wince and the whimper, however, made her quickly let go.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I just…” She cupped her own mouth in shock and awe of her own stupidity.

“No, it’s fine…” He said, trying to regain himself and readjust the dark blue sling that held his arm in place. “Honestly.”

Anwyn turned to the tall and well-built man beside him, who had been grinning from the moment the door had opened. Derek Morgan appeared to be very athletic and his demeanour was even more charismatic. Smiling and extending a hand to shake his, Anwyn began to greet Spencer’s colleague.

“Hi there, it’s really nice to meet you.” She didn’t really know what else to say, feeling something close to absolute panic on the inside. This was the first friend impression and could set the tone for anything that might be said about her later.

“The pleasure’s mine.” Derek’s grin turned into a broad but sincere smile. “Good to know that someone else is looking out for the kid…” He shook her hand firmly before folding his arms and giving Spencer a look. “And as if I’d be crude, you should know that.” Derek gave Spencer a gentle yet playful nudge. “Anyway, I can’t stay. You two weren’t the only ones in the middle of something when the call came in.” Anwyn froze, eyes wide in panic and embarrassment when she realised what he meant.

“We… I… I mean er…” Derek chuckled to himself at her reaction.

“Aww, you guys are perfect for each other… well, really gotta go now. Take care of him for me, will you?” He winked at Anwyn as she nodded back to him before turning on the spot and cantering energetically down the stairs.

Spencer raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips in a smile as they were finally left alone. The two stood wordlessly and awkwardly for a long moment, neither really knowing how to even start the conversation that they’d been left with, but it was Spencer that finally and fittingly broke the silence.

“I imagine Derek knew exactly what he just did in making this as awkward as he could… Don’t worry, I figured he would and already set into motion a little payback.” Spencer smiled broadly, tucking his hair behind his ear with his free hand. Anwyn breathed a sigh of relief after the moment had passed.

“Nothing too serious I hope. I don’t know how out of hand FBI pranks can get.” She beamed at him, almost glowing with happiness at his presence.

“Oh, we can get pretty wild.” He beamed in return till Anwyn stepped aside a little.

“So, would you like to come in?” She picked up his bag and gave him a look of ‘don’t you dare argue’ before smiling again and beckoning him inside. 

Spencer stepped across the threshold and moved over to her living room, examining the space with his eyes which of course were drawn straight to the candles and the tumbler of thin, green paste. Anwyn sighed heavily before moving inward to close the door and approach the subject of helping him in her own way.


	9. Chapter 9

“Did it hurt? I mean, of course it hurt but… does it hurt now?” Anwyn asked, sitting facing him with a nervous demeanour. Her hands were clasped together between her knees on the edge of her seat.

“It’s only painful when I remember it but then it’s kinda hard to get it out of your mind.” Spencer replied with a faint smile. “You know, you don’t have to do this. I’ll be fine.” He’d sensed her anxiety but he clearly didn’t understand what the anxiety was. 

At least the candle lit pizza had been somewhat romantic, even if Anwyn had had to assist him in pulling slices free. The boxes were now empty on the coffee table with a few remnants of crust and oily stains where the base had sat.

Anwyn had intended to cook for him, but she had been distracted by preparing for what might come next that she’d neglected to leave time for it. The pizza had also gone down very well as a comfort food, which had helped calm her for a while but now the fear was back. The magic she intended was for his benefit and would hopefully ease his pain a little as well as speed up the healing process… so why was she so reluctant to bring it up yet?

“Spencer.” Anwyn’s tone had become very serious all of a sudden. “I… I want to do something for you, and… I just…”

“What is it?” Spencer sat forward, frowning with concern for her sudden stuttering of her sentence.

“I know that you aren’t really a believer in the magic that we do, but I want to do something to try and help you. Something that I hope will get you back to helping others a lot quicker.” She smiled weakly, hoping that he would at least consider it.

“Anwyn, I will still be able to do my job, I just won’t be breaking down any doors… not that I break down doors, that’s more Derek’s thing.” He chuckled lightly at his joke, trying to lighten the mood. “The doctors said that I will be right as reign in a few weeks, I just have to sit out on certain things. You really don’t need to do anything for me.”

“But you’re in pain.” Anwyn replied with a level of protest in her voice.

“Pain is just electrical impulses sent by the nervous system to our minds to tell us to stop what we’re doing or not to let it happen again. And I don’t really feel like letting it happen again.”

“That doesn’t mean you should just put up with it.” She pleaded.

“I refuse to numb myself with narcotics or otherwise.” He had started to become stubborn.

“Please, I just want to help.” Even her eyes had started pleading with him as she leaned further forward, placing a hand on his knee. “Just let me help you in my own way.”

Spencer’s eyes followed down from her eyes, along her arm to the hand that had reached out to him. There was a warmth in her that he’d come to cherish and right now that warmth was reassuring him that all she wanted was to feel useful. With a reluctant sigh, he decided that it couldn’t hurt to light a few candles and say a few words, perhaps blessing something or asking something for strength.

“What exactly did you have in mind?” Anwyn lit up with joy as she realised that he’d actually shown an interest in what she might have to offer. The demeanour of her entire body changed from defensive to energetic and she practically hovered from the seat in excitement.

“I have to admit, I had a little help. As soon as I found out you’d been hurt I called Aiden and Allison to ask if they knew any way of helping.” Anwyn’s smile grew and grew as she explained.

“Wait, you told your friends I got stabbed?” He questioned.

“Well, yeah. Aiden was impressed and Allison practically swooned…” She paused, feigning thought. “In fact, remind me to tell her you’re mine later.” She grinned broadly and Spencer chuckled at the thought of her being possessive. “But we all have our own strengths, which means if any of us are stuck we call up the others to see if their strengths will help. Mine’s candle magic and representational magic but I couldn’t think of anything that would help. Then Aiden told me about this herbal spell that she’d used that time she cut her arm open with a whittling blade.”

“Wait, Aiden whittles?” Spencer’s focus had been lost as he thought about how he’d love to learn to whittle as yet another odd hobby. The tangent threw Anwyn off of her train of thought for a moment as she chuckled at his question.

“Yes, or at least she tried. It was a bit of a disaster, but she’d been able to prove the usefulness of the herbs she’d learned to use. Most of them are commonplace kitchen herbs and are used in cooking… I could get into the history of it later, I’m sure you’d enjoy it, but the point is she told me how to recreate the mixture.”

Spencer suddenly remembered the items he’d noticed upon his arrival. His eyes flicked across to the side table that Anwyn used as an altar and the glass tumbler upon it. The candles that surrounded it were almost burned down to their holder bases but continued to cast odd shadows with their triangular formation. Inside the tumbler was a small measure of what looked like something that would be served in one of those new age, organic juice stores as some kind of rejuvenating grass smoothie shot. The pizza deep in his stomach felt like it was objecting to the idea of consuming such an item straight after he’d eaten it, as though offended, causing nausea.

“Anwyn, that looks disgusting. Please don’t be offended.” He pulled a face to show just how disgusted he felt.

“I’m not offended; it wasn’t all that pleasant up close either.” She smirked before standing up to wander over to it, checking on the candles as they burned on. “Just be glad you don’t have to drink it.”

The spark of relief that washed over Spencer at that moment seemed to help settle his stomach as well as his mind. Even the thought of the deep green liquid passing between his lips was enough to make him feel ill, but then if he didn’t have to drink it what did he have to do?

“Wait… what is it for then?” The frown on his face helped put across his reluctance. Anwyn turned to look at him sincerely, walking back over to him and touching his one good shoulder in an attempt to reassure him.

“Well, once the candles have burned down its blessing will be complete but we won’t be able to use it quite yet, we’ll need to wait till your dressing needs to be changed.”

“Anwyn, that stuff is not going anywhere near my shoulder. It’s only just been stitched up.” Spencer physically recoiled from her touch, which in turn made the smile fade from her lips.

“Spencer, it's ok, it’s just herbs mixed in olive oil.” She tried to move closer to him but he recoiled again.

“No. Absolutely not. It’s an open wound, you have no idea what kind of infections you could cause doing that.” This time he stood up and stepped away from her, looking furious.

“Spencer, please.” She pleaded once more. “I’ve seen this work. I know it sounds silly but you have to believe I can help you.”

“That’s just it. I don’t believe in it, you do. What I believe is that someone just stuck a thin shard of steel into the muscle of my shoulder and that the doctors are the ones who should be looking after it, not you.” Spencer’s raised voice made her step back away and shrink into herself, into the shell that she would have normally adorned while around a stranger in a bookstore or coffee shop.

“I… I… I just… wanted to er… wanted to help.” She stuttered awkwardly, backing away from him and folding her arms around herself.

“Yeah, well this is something that you can’t really help with. Leave it for the doctors to fix, not a wish and a prayer.” Anwyn’s jaw dropped as a tear rolled down her cheek. She’d been rendered completely speechless, continuing to back away.

Spencer realised what he’d done but he was still angry, to angry to say anything else to her. Instead, he picked up his satchel from beside the sofa and stormed away from her, barely pausing to yank open the door as he left.

Anwyn’s body was frozen in place for a long moment, tears running down both cheeks till she just couldn’t stand anymore. The thin rug offered little cushioning as she dropped to her knees then slumped against the sofa, sobbing into the material. She paused only for a brief moment to turn her head to look at the candles burning on the side table then the photograph of her and Amy that looked into the room from the top of the chest of drawers.

“Amy… what am I doing?” she asked the photograph quietly. “What is this? Am I kidding myself?” She paused and sat upright, looking around the room at her books and candles and stones and herbs. “This is just… stuff. How can it help anyone other than to cling on to an idea that there’s something more to life than just being here? Because at the end of the day, that’s all it is.”

With a sniff of her nose and a forceful wrist to wipe away the tears from her face, she drew in the strength to get up from the floor and wander over to the side table to pick up the glass tumbler. Anwyn looked at the deep green contents of the glass before her eyes moved back to the picture of her friend as she stared back at her. 

“I’m sorry, Amy.” She said finally before tipping a little of the liquid into each of the candles to extinguish the flames. Taking in a long breath, she paused, looking down at the candles and other little pieces on her altar. Maybe it’s time to get real.

Anwyn wandered to the kitchen, tipping away the last of the green liquid before returning with the bin, walking slowly and with lack of any of her usual enthusiasm. She placed the bin down at the edge of the side table, looking at the items of her alter with utter despondency. Finally, after another moment, she pushed everything into the bin angrily. Everything. The candles, the gemstones, all of it, with one fell swoop.

There was an odd feeling on her skin, like there was someone there watching what she’d done. At first she turned toward the door, hoping to see Spencer standing in it but the dark door remained closed. Instead she looked back to the photograph, feeling like she’d let her friend down in the worst way. The feeling was too little too late, however, and Anwyn walked back to the kitchen to place the bin back in its space and poured herself a glass of wine.


	10. Chapter 10

The weather had definitely turned, bringing the cold even into the staircase of Spencer’s apartment block. The air was so cold, in fact, that he was able to see his own breath as he bounded up the stairs to get home to his warm apartment. As he bounded up the stairs to the floor below his he paused, looking at the door that stood before him. The door most likely hid someone that he’d wished he hadn’t upset greatly but as he looked on he realised there was barely any evidence that she even lived there. 

From what he’d been reading, they were in the middle of yule, a widely celebrated time of year for those in magical circles and the approach of the winter solstice, but there were no indications that she’d be celebrating it in any way. Even the small protection rune had been removed from the corner of her door, something she’d told him she’d had since her best friend passed away, having been a gift. The twinge of sadness passed through him, as it did every time, but he continued on up the final flight of stairs. All he could do was hope that the scene on the other side of the door might be a slightly happier one.

“Okay, that’s twice you’ve made me do that.” Allison said with a glare at her friend, who rolled her eyes.

“I just… I’m still not ready for him to even know I exist.” She replied before taking a sip of her hot chocolate. Aiden wasn’t buying into it. She rolled her eyes and stood up, wandering across to the empty side table.

“So, you’re not getting ready for the solstice?” She questioned, glancing back for a moment.

“I told you, I’m done with it.” Anwyn’s voice was firm, so firm that Aiden and Allison shared a concerned look. The air itself seemed to become tense and full of emotion as the frustrations radiated from the young woman.

“Bullshit.” Aiden responded after a long moment, causing Allison to look on in shock. She’d always been the stronger willed of the three and would usually be the one to call anyone out if she thought they weren’t being honest, to the group or to themselves. “You look me in the eye and tell me that you haven’t thought about magic or what you promised Amy.”

The air became heavy, almost charged in the atmosphere of Anwyn’s apartment. Glaring at her friend, she just wished they’d leave her alone for a while to figure it all out but she had been right. Even on the night she’d sworn away from magic she’d felt a sting of guilt, as though she’d betrayed the trust and friendship of someone she’d cared so dearly about.

“I… I just…” Anwyn struggled to come back to her, let alone look her in the eye and do it. “I think I need some time alone right now, guys.”

Allison looked back and forth between Aiden, who was still glaring, and Anwyn, who was looking down to the ground. Trying several times and even getting to the point of opening her mouth, she struggled with what to say but in the end it was Aiden who spoke.

“Fine, be like this. Just remember, we’re still your friends and we want to help you.” She delved into her pocket and pulled out a small crystal, turning and slamming it down onto the side table before heading toward the door.

Anwyn couldn’t look at Aiden but her eyes moved up to look at the crystal before she looked to Allison. Her friend was still speechless, slowly standing to leave but hesitant. Anwyn gave a weak smile but Allison couldn’t leave it there, throwing her arms around her and holding on tight for a few moments. Aiden looked on, still trying to remain firm on the outside but inwardly wishing she’d done that too.

“Call us.” Allison said softly as she finally moved away.

“I will.” And with that, Aiden yanked the door to open it and the pair stepped out into the corridor.

“Well, that was pleasant.” Aiden whispered to Allison once the door was closed, causing a small ploom of breath to expand into the harsh cold of the hallway. Looking back at the door, she noted the missing rune with a sigh.

“I wish she’d just tell us what it was that happened.” Allison replied, her breath too hanging in the air.

“I think I might be able to help with that.” Came a voice which caused the pair to turn and look. At the top of the stairs leading to the next floor sat a glum looking Spencer. His arm was no longer in the sling but he held it to his stomach as if it were. “Just… don’t be mad.”

Aiden was ready to run up the stairs at him but Allison shot her a look, knowing exactly what her intentions would have been. They watched as Spencer stood up and moved away from the top of the stairs, hoping they’d follow. Once they were on the floor above he smiled nervously but continued to hold his arm to his stomach.

“This had better be good.” Aiden growled, still keeping her voice low but no longer whispering.

“I know, I know, I screwed up.” Spencer admitted. “But… I didn’t know what to do, I really, really didn’t… I just. Look, you guys have a set of beliefs and I don’t share in them. When I came home hurt she wanted to help in a way that I didn’t like and I freaked out. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not us you need to say sorry to.” Allison advised. “She’s hurt.” Spencer sighed heavily, realising the damage he’d done.

“I guess I thought she just didn’t want to see me. I mean I should have realised as soon as December hit and she hadn’t put up a wreath that something was wrong. There didn’t seem to be any sign of preparation for the winter solstice.”

“No, because she’s… wait, how did you know what to look for?” Aiden looked confused.

“I tried to find out more about the magic she wanted to use on me and I started reading… there’s so much history in what you guys do, it’s all very interesting. Everything has its meaning and purpose which in turn gives a very positive outlook on life.” The pair stared blankly at Spencer.

“How much did you read?” Allison asked without either facial expression changing.

“Not a great deal, I only found twelve or so books in the store nearby, I had to go to the library to find more… thirty-four I think, in total.” Spencer smiled and nodded as he spoke but everything he said only added to the bewilderment.

“Remind me to pick your brain sometime…” Aiden said blankly before snapping back. “But it’s all for naught right now because she’s given up on it… because of whatever it was you said.” Spencer stared off blankly, recalling his words.

“Oh no, I… I said some awful things.”

“What did you say?” Allison asked.

“I… I told her that it was for the doctors to help me not her, and that… that she shouldn’t try and fix me with a wish and a prayer.” Spencer almost recoiled into himself as he spoke, completely ashamed.

“Now can I hit him?” Aiden asked but Allison just shook her head, moving toward Spencer and placing her hand on his shoulder.

“You need to fix this, Spencer. Only you can.” She said softly.

“But how?” He asked, looking from one to the other.

“Well, I’d say there’s no magic fix but if anyone were to know one right now, it’d be you apparently.” Aiden smirked at her remark but Spencer had only really heard the beginning of her sentence before the cogs started turning.

“Aiden, you’re a genius.” Spencer exclaimed after a brief moment, causing a look of confusion on Allison’s face and a look of pride on Aiden’s

“I know.” Aiden chuckled to herself

“I’m going to need a few things, and I actually think you’re the best person to ask where to get them.” Spencer looked at Aiden, who now looked back in confusion as to where this might lead.

~

Slumping down onto the sofa, into the small indentation she’d been working on for the past week, she cupped the wine glass to her face below her nose. The bouquet was as warming as the deepness of the red of the grape and it instantly melted her into the seat. After a brief sip she leaned forward and pulled her plate toward her on the coffee table. Between the warmth of her apartment, the flavour of the wine, the comfort of her sofa and the wonderful promise of her black forest cheesecake, all that was missing was something good on the TV… if only that existed.

Anwyn grabbed the remote in the hopes of finding something to pass the time till there was something worth passing the time with. That was the plan till suddenly there was a rather loud knock at the door, grabbing her attention completely away. She sighed heavily in annoyance, wishing that Aiden and Allison would just drop their attempts to bring her back into the magical fold.

“You guys, really?” She shouted, slamming her glass down onto the coffee table and standing up with vigour before storming across the room. Her hand reached for the handle, twisting and yanking the door from its sticking frame with every intention of roasting her friends on the other side. But it wasn’t Aiden or Allison behind the door.

Standing before her was a very wet and shivering Spencer, who’d clearly been out in the ice cold rain for a long time. Anwyn’s heart fluttered at first but then her brain caught up with her and she glared at him, trying to close the door again before he could speak. Spencer had to stop the door to even explain.

“Wait, just, hear me out.” He pleaded, his voice shuddering as he shivered. “I know I messed up… badly.”

“Yeah, you think?” She retorted.

“I’m sorry, I just… I freaked out. You were asking to do something I wasn’t ready for and rather than telling you how I felt I layed into you about something that is really close to your heart.” Anwyn stopped trying to push the door closed and started leaning on it instead. “And… I’m sorry. But you should never give up on what you believe in. So I made you this.”

Spencer shifted so that he could pull the hidden item from behind his back. He’d made a wreath of entwined ivy with sprigs of holly and small pieces of twig. It was perfectly made, magical almost.

“The ivy represents friendship and the holly is for good luck… and the birch twigs mean…”

“A fresh start.” Anwyn interjected with a smile. She let out a heavy sigh, still looking at the wreath. “I suppose it does look… ok.” The grin spread across her face the moment his expression dropped. 

Anwyn took the wreath, placing it on the ground by the door before turning back to him. Spencer started to speak but Anwyn pressed a finger on his lips, feeling just how cold he was before wrapping her arms around his neck. The huge sigh of relief came rushing out of him, clouding in a mist as the cold air rushed past into the warm till she released him and pulled him by the hand into the apartment.

“You’ll forgive me?” He asked nervously to which she nodded slowly.

“Next time, just let me know how you’re feeling, ok?” And with that she leaned forward, pressing her lips against his for a long moment. “Thank you, Spencer.”

“For what?” He asked, looking confused.

“For reminding me that you have me to heart, and that it’s a warm heart. And for the wreath.” She smiled warmly. “Now let’s get _you_ warm, shall we?”


	11. Chapter 11

The warmth of the apartment spread through him very quickly but Anwyn insisted that he take off his wet and dripping jacket in place of a blanket that usually covered the back of the sofa. Once he’d been wrapped up, she’d disappeared into the kitchen and was making a lot of noise and running back and forth so busily that Spencer tried to lean to see what exactly it was that she’d been doing. Eventually she hurried back through with a steaming cup on a saucer.

“Drink up, this’ll have you feeling much better in no time.” She beamed as she put the cup down on the coffee table. The steam rose from the cup toward him like a dancing wisp of inviting and soothing warmth, tempting him forward to take the final step in ridding his chill. The scent was familiar, like freshly baked treats of some kind that could tempt even the most serious of dieters.

“Mmmm, what is that? Is that… cinnamon in tea?” He asked excitedly.

“Why, yes it is.” She smiled as she sat in the seat beside him, slowly stroking the small of his back through the blanket as he sat forwards and took a small sip of the hot tea.

“You know,” He started, turning to look at her. “While I was doing some research I read that cinnamon is indicative of a good health spell… or it can be used for love, lust and male fertility.” Anwyn had started out smiling but her eyes widened at the last part.

“Let’s just stick with healing for now, eh?” She said in utter embarrassment.

“Oh… I wasn’t suggesting… I just wanted… I was showing that I’d done research on… stuff.” Spencer stuttered through, starting to panic but Anwyn placed her hand on his back, sitting forward and leaning her head on his shoulder.

“It’s ok, it’s super sweet that you did that. You didn’t have to.” She smiled to herself. “I suppose you asked Aiden where to get the items to make the wreath.”

“I did. How did you know that?” He asked, frowning in confusion as he took another sip of tea.

“Let me guess, you approached my friends and she threatened you but Allison deflected the subject.”

“It sounds familiar.”

“Aiden has her own greenhouses and covered garden. She sent you into the woods so that you’d get soaked through as a revenge. She can be like that.” Anwyn chuckled to herself as she gave him a little squeeze. “You know, you didn’t need to do that. I was wrong too.” Spencer put the cup down on the coffee table and turned to look at her again, making her sit up a little from his shoulder.

“I had no right to say the things I did.” He contested.

“But I had no right to expect you to accept my methods. You’re right, you should have just talked to me, but I should have talked to you too, not just prepare something you might not be ready for.” She leaned close again. “I’m sorry.”

Spencer tipped up her chin, looking into her eyes and reading the shame that had little to no place being there. He cupped her cheek and admired the smile that came as a result, the smile that always made him feel warm inside.

“You’ve nothing to be sorry for.” He paused, looking into her eyes a little more before tilting his head and leaning in to kiss her. Their lips were pressed together for a long moment before Anwyn shifted, placing her hand on his shoulder then sliding it to the back of his hair as the kiss deepened. The warmth of her body against his did more than enough to remove his chill, much more than the tea might have done.

Finally, Spencer broke away slightly to lean his forehead against hers; keeping his eyes closed as he held the moment in his mind till Anwyn tugged at his shoulder, beckoning him to sit back in the sofa. As he did, she pulled up his arm, wrapping it and the blanket around herself before resting under his shoulder with a hand on his chest. His heartbeat thumped in her ear, making her smile at the thought of it.

“Spencer, would you stay for a while?” She asked quietly, playing with the fabric of his shirt.

“Are you kidding? There’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now.” He replied jovially, shifting his hand across himself to meet hers. The pair watched as they entwined their fingers until their hands clasped together in their own embrace, connecting the two of them.

“Then, maybe you could help me get ready for the Solstice next week?” Their fingers broke away and Spencer’s hand slid up her arm as hers returned to his chest. He kissed the top of her head then rested his cheek gently upon it.

“I think that would mean a lot to me, all things considered. Yeah.” He replied, running his fingertips up and down the skin of her upper arm. The tingle that it caused made Anwyn shudder slightly as it sent shivers up her arm then down her spine. A smile spread across her lips and her face grew hot in embarrassment of just how much she was enjoying this moment, never wanting it to really end.

The cogs had been turning in Spencer’s mind as he thought of the way they’d be spending the holiday in Virginia, celebrating the rebirth of the sun. He knew he’d be sharing in something special to her, something deeply rooted in her beliefs that in truth was very personal. So why shouldn’t he offer the same thing?

“Anwyn, I can’t help but wonder something.” He asked softly.

“Hmmm?”

“What… what do you do for Christmas?” The question threw her a little, making her sit up a little and look at him.

“I… well, I don’t… I don’t usually do anything. I mean, I don’t really see my dad and my mom… I don’t really have family to celebrate it with.” Spencer had assumed this would be the answer, ever since they’d exchanged the stories of their families. Looking at her, at the soft, slightly blushed skin of her cheeks, he fought the urge to kiss her again, to press his lips to her the smooth pink of her face.

“I don’t know if you would like the idea but, I always go see my mom in Nevada and… well… I was wondering if maybe… maybe you’d like to spend Christmas with me. Visiting my mom.” He cringed a little at the last part, realising just how corny it sounded but Anwyn’s eyes lit up like huge sparkling marbles.

“Spencer, that’s… that’s… I can’t, it’d be like I was intruding into your family time.” She was utterly shocked.

“No, no, it’s fine. My mom has been asking about you, actually. And I think she’d really enjoy the company.” Anwyn turned an even deeper shade of pink.

“She’s been asking about me? Oh no.” She practically curled up under his arm to hide but he chuckled and pulled her back out.

“Yes, she’s really excited about the idea actually.” Spencer beamed, loving the idea that this mattered as much to her as it did to him. She paused for a long time, steadily turning more and more pink.

“Spencer, I’d love to. It’d be amazing and I really, really wanna meet your mom too.” With that she threw her arms around him with a gleeful squeal, squeezing him as tightly as her little arms could. The surge of relief made him almost as happy as the feel of her closeness as he slid his arms around her, wrapping her in the safety and warmth of his embrace. “Oh my God, what do I get her?” Spencer chuckled at her sudden concern.

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll help you.” He smiled as she pulled away to look at him, her eyes gazing into his with a deepness he’d not really experienced before. A deepness he’d wished for before but never attained. That’s when he realised just what she actually meant to him, that she might actually be the most important thing to him now and ever. The pair sat there with Anwyn laying on Spencer’s chest, staring into each other’s eyes until finally, slowly, carefully, Anwyn moved forward, pressing her lips to his again and kissing him. Then again. And again, till eventually the kiss between them deepened in a slow and loving expression of their care. Her lips were so soft and her tongue caressed his so gently that he couldn’t help but slide his hand to cup her face, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb.

When the pair finally parted their lips, Anwyn let out a soft gasp before gently nipping her bottom lip between her teeth. The dazed gaze between them as they both slowly opened their eyes was like an intense transfer of thoughts and wonderment which led to Anwyn’s wish.

“Spencer,” She whispered. “Would you… would you stay the night? I’ve already spent weeks without seeing you, and I’m not sure I could bare you leaving just yet. I want to just… sleep, laying in your arms, letting you protect me from myself and the stupid mistake I made in giving up the two things I care about the most right now.”

Spencer was completely lost for words. Staring deep into her eyes he searched for any kind of misgiving that might have been there but he found none, only the God’s honest truth.

“If you’re sure that’s what you want.” He replied. “I can go up and grab a few things and I can stay with you… on two conditions.”

“What are they?” She frowned with concern.

“Firstly, if I’m staying over, I make breakfast.” Anwyn smiled and nodded happily.

“And the other?” Spencer grinned broadly before answering.

“Secondly, you promise this has nothing to do with the cinnamon you put in my tea.”

Anwyn turned bright pink with embarrassment but giggled at his humour, tapping his shoulder in feigned offence.

“I promise you, if I had anything like that planned you wouldn’t know till it happened.” She grinned and gave him a playful wink before bursting out laughing. Spencer laughed too but she still saw the look in his eye. “I’m joking. Don’t worry.”

The look of relief on his face was hard to hide but deep down he knew that he enjoyed the touch of her skin, the feel of her body close to his and her scent as she held him close. In the awkward silence after the joke both of them looked at each other with the same train of thought. What if it was more than a joke?

Anwyn’s bottom lip found itself back between her front teeth for a brief moment and Spencer’s fingers caressed her skin with a different intent, building the tension for a few moments. Finally, Anwyn spoke.

“I… I’m going to er… go put my pyjamas on.” She looked away from him, turning the deepest shade of pink so far of the night.

“Yeah, I er… need to get my things.” Spencer absent mindedly tucked his hair behind his ear and smiled as Anwyn stood up. She held out a hand to help him up, which he took gratefully. “I’ll… I’ll see you in a moment.”

Anwyn let Spencer pass to leave, smiling as he paused on the door before leaving but the moment he closed the door she erupted into full blown silent celebration and smiles so broad her eyes were shut tight. After her moment of outburst, she smoothed her hair, acting cool for absolutely no-one before wandering towards her bedroom to change.


	12. Chapter 12

It wasn’t the chill in the air or the smell of bacon wafting from the apartment below that woke the pair, but the morning sun as it crept along the sheets and onto their bare faces. The dust in the air swirled through the thin beam of light, reflecting and shining like tiny flakes of snow. All that could be heard was the gentle breathing of two peaceful sleepers until Spencer stirred, groaning and stretching as he woke.

The first sight he saw as he opened his eyes was a peaceful yet ruffled looking Anwyn, with her hair strewn across the pillow like roots of a tree. It made him smile, knowing how she felt about her magics and nature, like a strange symbolism but the smile faded quickly as his eyes wandered to the time.

“Oh my God, Anwyn, wake up. We’re going to miss our flight.” Spencer threw himself backwards out of the bed to pull his neatly piled clothes onto his awkwardly long limbs.

Anwyn stirred a little, stretching out her arms before opening her eyes and turning toward him. Spencer had expected the ‘What time is it?’ that would normally follow in a groggy manner but it didn’t come. Instead she sat upright, smiled broadly and greeted him.

“Morning.” Came a strangely jolly greeting for the time of day.

“Morning.” Spencer replied after a confused pause. “How are you so chipper? No offence.” Anwyn chuckled and swung her bare legs from the bed. Recoiling a little as they hit the cold air.

“Roseroot.” She said simply. “Takes away anxiety and heightens your mood slightly, take it before you sleep if you need to do something important in the early morning and it’ll take away the grumpy too.” Spencer paused to consider the implications for a moment with an almost impressed look on his face as he tucked his shirt into his pants.

Their flight wasn’t for a few hours but he envied the fact that she’d most likely be immune to stress with the nutrients from her herbal remedy. Though traffic was light, the airport was complete and utter chaos as hundreds of people hurried into or out of Virginia to be with their families for the holidays. Anwyn asked once or twice if there was anything Spencer could do to hurry them through with his FBI badge and he was almost tempted on a number of occasions but regardless of his actions, they made it aboard the flight.

It took four and a half hours to get from Virginia to Vegas and every moment of the first half was spent with Anwyn asking questions about how to beat the casinos and win fortunes, which led Spencer to explain over and over that the house always wins, even with a foolproof system. The remainder of the flight was spent with Anwyn asleep on Spencer’s shoulder, snoring lightly as they drew nearer to Nevada.

The airport at Las Vegas was just the same as the one in Virginia, organised chaos reigned as hundreds upon hundreds of people shuffled between each other, grabbing for bags and hurrying for cabs, trying to beat their fellow travellers to the quickest way to their destination. As Spencer and Anwyn strolled slowly through the crowd, it was Anwyn who pointed out that humanity was a strange creature in the way it would raise its own stress levels to the point of death just to celebrate a day with family, even if they hated each other.

“Surely that’s better than being alone on Christmas day though, right?” Spencer asked curiously but Anwyn shook her head.

“Christmas is a time of joy and celebrating new life and happiness, why worry yourself and make it about how much you spend or how little you argue?” She returned as they approached a cab. “I’m not saying everyone should avoid it, I mean there are happy families, but then there are also unhappy ones who’d rather not see each other.”

“Then can we be a happy one? I like Christmas.” Spencer chuckled as he opened the door for her but she froze, turning bright pink and bashful.

“You… you want us to be a family?” The realisation hit and he tried to backpedal for a moment but then gave in.

“Someday, maybe. I think I’d like that, but right now I meant you, me and my mom.” Anwyn beamed and kissed his cheek.

“It’s still nice to be considered that.” She said as she ducked into the back of the cab, leaving Spencer with a silly grin.

~

There were decorations adorning all of the walls and tinsel wrapped around all of the reception desks in an attempt to make the hospital seem like a festive and normal place but there was no hiding it. Every drab corridor, every horrid squeaky floor reminded Anwyn that she wasn’t in a hotel as they wandered along toward the hospital library.

The library was darker than most places so far, with fastened down table lights to illuminate the pages that might be held open to a reader. As the nurse led them both to a particularly dark corner, Anwyn noticed an older lady sitting by herself, scribbling something into a book that didn’t look far from her own grimoire. As the lady turned around, she noticed the resemblances to Spencer, strong cheekbones and a serious look of in-depth thought.

“Mom.” Spencer started as they stepped closer. “I want you to meet someone.”

“Ah, you must be Anwyn.” Diana said cheerily before turning serious. “Do you prefer Annie or Winnie?” The question threw Anwyn for a moment as she looked to Spencer for silent answers but he had none.

“I… er… I just prefer Anwyn.” She replied nervously. “My father called me Annie, and I hated it.”

“I see, good.” She said nodding before looking to Spencer. “People who hold to their whole name have stronger characters.” He smiled in response then paused, trying to think of the next social protocol in this particular occurrence but Anwyn got to it first.

“Spencer says you’re the reason for his love of books and reading.” Diana looked to her with a bright smile.

“My Spencer was a reader deep down, I just showed him the world of writing and he took to it like a swan to a lake. I mean he was never a graceful child but he was my bright young star nevertheless.”

As Spencer watched both of the women in his life look to him he sensed the trouble he was about to encounter. Both had as broad a smile as a child with a new play thing and he quickly concluded that that play thing would be him.

“I’ve yet to see him attempt anything like dancing but if it’s anything like watching him put his coat on with a coffee in one hand I can imagine it’ll be interesting.” Anwyn had started it quickly. The moment they bond over embarrassing him. Diana even gestured toward a chair for Anwyn to sit and talk.

“You know; I remember his first day of college. I mean he was only twelve but to watch him try and carry all those books at once… Priceless. He refused point blank to accept any help. He walked maybe ten yards before the whole lot crashed to the floor.”

“Thanks, mom.” Spencer said, stepping nearer with a seat he’d collected from another table, but his mother had heard the embarrassed tone in his voice.

“Oh Spencer, don’t be so prideful. That’s my job.” She beamed at him, making him smile back. Anwyn couldn’t help but appreciate the sweet moment “It can be your job when you have children.”

“Mom!” Spencer interjected as Anwyn turned bright pink for the second time today.

“I didn’t mean now. I’m too young to be a grandma. Gimme at least another five to ten years.” She grinned playfully to indicate she was joking, looking back and forth between the pair. “So come on, let’s hear it, how did you both meet?” The pair smiled at each other as they thought back to their chance encounter.

“Quite gracefully, actually.” Anwyn started. “Spencer and I walked into each other in a book store.”

“It’s always good to have things in common.” Diana commented, leaving Anwyn unsure of she meant the books or the grace.

“And then, later that day, we met again in a coffee shop, by chance.” The pair hadn’t looked away from each other as she recounted the tale. “And finally, when the lights went out in my new apartment, I thought I’d find my neighbours by candle light… and there he was again.”

“You stalked the poor girl?” Diana frowned.

“No, mom, she lives in the apartment below mine.” He chuckled, hoping she wasn’t serious. “But I still have the candle you left in the coffee shop.” He said to Anwyn, who smiled back to him.

“Aww, I like candles. The have a certain… old age air about them.” Diana pictured in her head.

“Well, I always carry one, if you’d like to light it, I just don’t have anything to light it with right now.” Anwyn said, delving her hand into her handbag to produce a rather festive looking candle.

“Oh, I hope you know magic, because they tend to get upset if any of the residents ask for matches or a lighter here.” Diana said, looking around to see if any of the nursing staff were watching.

“It’s ok, we can light it later.” Spencer added. “We’ll be having dinner tomorrow anyway. There’ll be candles then, I’m sure.” Diana smiled to him then turned back to Anwyn.

“I always loved reading by candle light, it made certain works… come to life.” She said, gesturing with her hands.

“Absolutely, if I read when it’s dark it’s always by candle light. I find electric lighting so brash and unnecessary. Candles are much more natural.” Diana paused and leaned toward her.

“You aren’t a vegetarian, are you?” She asked quietly, much to her confusion.

“Oh, good. The last person who told me that was an old girl who was here for quite some time. She used to read by candle light every night and swear up and down she did it without matches. She said it was magic that lit the candles, and that’s what kept her in here so long.” Spencer smiled apologetically across to her but Anwyn wasn’t offended.

“I believe in magic.” She said, causing Diana to frown. “I’ve seen Spencer do magic.” She continued, watching he frown change to a smile.

“You manage to get it in the cup yet?” She asked him.

“Still working on it.” He hung his head slightly on his shoulders in defeat, which Anwyn spotted.

“In fairness, it did hit the cup and bounce off.”

“Well, progress is progress, Spencer, don’t belittle it.” She smiled to him. “Now, if old Bree had been here, she’d have given you a spell to make it go in the cup.” Anwyn chuckled to herself for a moment and then thought of something. 

Spencer noticed her expression change, watching the cogs turning as she worked out the smaller details of whatever it was she was thinking. When she’d got it, she turned to him and smiled, wordlessly asking permission for something to which he nodded in agreement. Why not mix science and her magic? At least then it truly would be science magic.

“Why don’t you show us some more magic, then go back to that one?” Anwyn suggested. “Do we have some cards?”

“Sweetheart, this is Vegas, everyone has cards.” Diana chuckled, nodding to direct her attention back to Spencer, who’d already fanned out a deck ready.

“So erm… Anwyn, would you like to do me the honours of picking out a card, from anywhere in this deck?” He grinned to her. “Prepare to be amazed.”


	13. Chapter 13

Anwyn stared hard at the cards in front of her, as though this would be one of the biggest decisions of her life. All fifty-two cards stared back at her with unwavering secrecy as she tried to imagine what she could be picking. Was she even picking? Was this one of those tricks where he’d already picked the card and would be directing her to it?

Finally, she leaned forward and placed a finger on the edge of the fan, trying to feel for a good one. When nothing stood out to her, she stopped, pinching the card she landed on with her fingertips and sliding it forward from the fan. Spencer split the deck around where the card had been, moving the top half away and holding the bottom half ready to reaccept the card.

“Ok, look at your card and keep it in your mind… Now put it back where it was.” He gestured with his hand for her to place the card down onto the deck in his hand, which she did with care.

Smiling, Spencer moved to the table, putting the two halves of the deck back together and placing them on the surface. There didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about the deck, either. It seemed like any deck you might see, with red intricate patterning on the backs, all identical and uniform.

A smirk appeared on his face as he began turning the deck over into a new pile, one card at a time. First came the three of clubs, followed by the eight of hearts and so on through the deck in a randomised order. Diana and Anwyn watched in anticipation and curiosity as he turned over card after card. After around a third of the deck had been turned over, he looked to Anwyn, sliding a card to her face down.

“Is that your card?” He asked calmly and confidently as Anwyn picked up the card. Her eyebrows raised as her eyes took in the sight before her. Spencer had, in fact, handed her the card she’d picked out.

“How did you do that?” She asked.

“He won’t tell you, I’ve been asking for years.” Chuckled Diana with a proud smile. Spencer picked up the cards, sorting them back into a deck and slipping them into a carton before looking at his watch.

“Mom, we have to go get checked in at the hotel but we’ll be back soon, ok. We’re gonna spend Christmas day together.” Anwyn looked at her watch too, unable to believe that they’d spent so long there already but he was right. It was a shame, because she’d really been enjoying herself, especially after having fretted about meeting Diana

“Aww, so soon?” Diana asked but before anyone could apologise she smiled and looked to each in turn. “It’s ok, I’m just glad you’re going to be here.” Leaning forward, she placed a hand on Spencer’s wrist and mouthed ‘Thank you.’

Spencer nodded happily, slowly getting to his feet and offering a hand to Anwyn, which she took with grace and rose to her feet also. The couple awkwardly readied themselves to leave, picking up backs and adjusting jackets before turning back to Diana.

“We’ll see you soon, mom.” Spencer said.

“Yes, it was lovely meeting you, Mrs. Reid” Anwyn said, smiling politely.

“Oh, call me Diana, sweetheart. The only people who call me Mrs. Reid are the people that psychologically prod and poke at me.” Anwyn nodded, continuing to smile.

“Ok… Diana.” And with that, the pair walked away, taking the corridor back out into the world as Anwyn beamed inwardly at how well that went.

~

The room was amazing. Pasted with warm creams and beiges, everything seemed so clean and welcoming while feeling luxurious at the same time. There was nothing extravagant about the layout or the furniture but it still made Anwyn feel like she’d arrived as royalty. As she sat down onto the edge of the bed, she felt the entire journey and length of the day fall through her and disappear into the mattress. It took every ounce of willpower to resist falling backward into the sheets and curling up to rest.

Spencer smiled as he placed their bags down at the foot of the bed, watching her with mild amusement as she sank into the bed. With a slow and tired demeanour, he moved around the bed to look at her.

“I feel like I could sleep from the moment I touch this thing till at least new year.” Anwyn raised her eyes then chuckled, standing to meet him. Her hands found his shoulders and she leaned against him, breathing against his neck.

“Well… I think that that is an absolute shame.” She smirked and pulled away from him a little, pulling him toward the bed.

“Oh…” was all he managed before he ended up in the sheets with Anwyn’s arms around him.

~

When they arrived at the hospital, there already seemed to be a different feel in the air. The people they passed in the corridor were cheerier and the patients seemed to like they were much more at home.

The dining room was heavily decorated with tinsel and lights and candles and trees, making the area seem less like a canteen and much more festive. The tables were laid out for groups and visitors, with plates and crackers and cutlery, with name tags at each setting.

Diana was already seated at the table, jotting down yet more notes into her journal. At the table beside her were two settings, one for Spencer then one for Anwyn, giving them the seats by the window. It was a shame to Anwyn that there would be no snow to watch out of the window on a Christmas day, but the magic would always be there for her. The candles on each table made her feel warm inside, like she was drawing energy for them as she would her altar candles.

Diana turned around, looking at the pair, her eyes lighting up brighter than the candles and the fairy lights combined. The book she’d been writing in was quickly closed and dropped off onto a side table which was just by the window.

“Spencer, Anwyn, Merry Christmas!” She exclaimed happily as they approached their seats.

“Merry Christmas, mom.” Spencer said, sitting down.

“Merry Christmas, Diana.” Anwyn copied, taking off her jacket before sliding into her seat. Diana was very excitable, looking at them both with joy and pride at the same time.

“So, how was your Christmas morning?” She asked, smiling at them both. Anwyn turned bright pink and hid herself away behind Spencer a little, pretending to adjust herself in her seat.

“I… er… yeah, it was wonderful.” Spencer stuttered, trying to cover his embarrassment at what that question might reveal to his mom. Anwyn had regained herself, smirking as she watched him struggle, she decided to make it a little more difficult.

“Oh, yes. We exchanged some wonderful gifts. Your son is very… thoughtful.” Diana smiled at Anwyn, not noticing the absolute horror on her son’s face.

“That reminds me.” He interrupted before Anwyn could torment him anymore. “We got you something, mom.” He turned and leaned down to his bag, delving his hand deep into it, pulling out a small, colourfully wrapped package. Diana’s eyes lit up, yet again as Spencer handed her the gift, taking it gleefully.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have.” She feigned complaint.

“This was Anwyn’s idea. She thought you’d like it.” Spencer added as Anwyn looked on with a worried and nervous expression. Diana tore through the wrapping with very little effort, revealing the small box packaging of a set of electronic candles.

“Now you won’t need us to sneak in matches.” Anwyn beamed as Diana looked at her with absolute adoration.

“Just be careful they don’t hear you make that joke. They won’t let you back in if they do.” She chuckled. “I wish I’d been able to get you both something.”

“Oh, that’s ok, mom.” Spencer refuted before looking to Anwyn then back at his mother. “I have everything that I want and need right now.”

Anwyn’s heart melted in that moment, looking at him with sheer awe. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said about her, making her truly see how much she meant to him and, in turn, how much she cared about him.

“Spencer, do I need to buy a hat?” Diana asked, placing her hand on his wrist on the table. Spencer’s eyes went wide in embarrassment, causing him to look back at Anwyn, who was also wide eyed in horror.

“I… we… I mean we just….” Spencer started, stuttering even more but to his absolute delight he had been saved by the bird as the cook came across, placing a plate in front of him. “Oh, wow, look at that.”

The dinner was very basic, with slices of turkey, potatoes and vegetables, but it was all that was needed for the families that were spending time together. As the plates were placed before Anwyn and Diana, all the conversations slowed to a simmer.

~

As the meal came to a close and stomachs were fit to burst the simmer of conversations started to boil over once more. The cooks collected the plates and offered a dessert or a coffee to each of the patients and guests.

“No, thank you. I honestly think I’d explode.” Spencer said happily in response.

“Spencer, don’t exaggerate” Diana said as she passed her plate to the cook before looking to Anwyn. “So, tell me. How do you get along with Spencer’s job?”

“I… we’ve already met with the fact that Spencer’s job takes him away. And I can’t say I’m overly comfortable with how dangerous it is but I can say I know that he helps people, and that’s what life should be about.” She explained. “You must be incredibly proud.”

“I’ve always been proud of Spencer. He could have been anything he wanted but he puts his talents to a perfect use.” Diana beamed as she spoke.

“Mom.” Spencer complained.

“Don’t ‘mom’ me, Spencer. It’s true.” She looked back to Anwyn. “Me telling people about what he does has gotten me in trouble before.” Anwyn pulled an ‘oops’ face then chuckled.

“I think I understand that what he does is very important, and that I’m privileged to share part of him. That part that I get to share seems to make me very happy.” Anwyn put her hand on Spencer’s shoulder, smiling to her boyfriend who was smiling back.

“You make me very happy too, and that’s why I wanted you to meet my mom.” He continued to smile.

“Yeah,” Diana started. “Because if I can’t scare you off, nothing will.” She chuckled.

“No, it’s been wonderful with you.” Anwyn said, looking across Spencer to his mother. “I’m so pleased I met you. As potential in-laws go, you’re wonderful.” A short moment passed before Spencer realised what she’d said.

“Wait… I… We…” He stuttered in utter panic. “We’ve only just…”

“Spencer, calm down. I don’t mean right now but… I can’t see myself going anywhere anytime soon.” She smiled sweetly, stroking his arm. Spencer smiled back to her, taking her hand from his arm and turning fully towards her.

“Anwyn, I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here anymore. I didn’t know what to do with myself when we were apart and I truly hope it never happens again.” The pair shared a long gaze, almost forgetting where they were as they came close to getting lost in each other.

“This is the best Christmas ever; I’m so buying a hat.” Diana beamed happily to herself as she pulled out her journal to continue writing.


	14. Chapter 14

The tables slid back nicely against the bookshelves while the sofas and chairs seemed to fit neatly around the walls, leaving a generous amount of space in the centre of the room while keeping the same amount of seating. There was ample surface space too, enough to lay out food and drinks for all the guests and then some. But still, something worried Spencer, quite visibly.

“Spencer, what’s wrong?” Anwyn asked, placing the last of the wine glasses on a side table. He glanced to her for a brief moment then continued to stare into the centre of the room.

“I don’t know, I just… this is the first time I’ll have hosted anything like this.” His eyes wandered around the room, scrutinising every placement, position and dimension, checking for perfection. It wouldn’t take any kind of special observational skills to notice that he was overly stressing about something that would so simply be a success.

Stepping up to him and placing her hands gently against his chest, she smiled sweetly, trying to let him feel her as an anchor. All he could do was smile back meekly for a moment as he tried desperately to convince himself that everything was set and ready.

“They don’t care if it’s perfect, they’ll just enjoy the company of their friends for new year, because that’s what it’s all about. Being with the people that you want to wish a happy new year to, not if all the glasses match or if the seats will suit everyone. I bet your friends would be happy with mismatched plastic cups if it meant being here tonight.” Spencer sighed, tipping his head back as the words sunk in before gripping her shoulders lightly.

“Eugh, you’re right. I know, I’m just… I’m spending too much time in my head, I need to just let things take their natural course.” He chuckled lightly to her before kissing her forehead. “Thank you.”

“Thank me when we’re done here.” She replied, grinning and patting his chest playfully. Spencer released her, watching her move away with some confusion.

“But… I thought we were?” He asked, following her as she moved into the kitchen.

“What’s a party without…” She approached her bag, which had been sat on the counter, pulling out a bundle of silver banners and streamers. “Decorations!” Spencer beamed at her excited smile, stepping aside to allow her to rush past into the living room once more.

Spencer watched with admiration as she flitted around, hanging streamers and placing banner on the walls. Her vision seemed complete and inspired, leading him to the conclusion that he should leave her be and let her work her magic, so to speak. Letting his attention move away, his eyes moved to the clock. Ten hours till the new year. Six hours till they arrived.

It had all been Anwyn’s idea at the base of it. She’d asked several times to meet his friends and colleagues, so when Spencer suggested a new year party, she jumped at the idea they host it. The responsibilities would be split between upstairs and downstairs, where the guests would be hosted upstairs in Spencer’s apartment, while food, drink and other preparations would be brought up from Anwyn’s apartment. It was the perfect plan, wasn’t it?

~

Anyone would have thought that the knock at the door had almost made Spencer give birth to a litter of kittens as he jumped up in utter panic. It was six hours till the new year, no one was supposed to be here for another two hours and the thought of anyone turning up this early was a sign of sheer chaos to him. Anwyn chuckled as she strode past him to the door, shaking her head lightly before speaking.

“Spencer, calm down. It’s just Aiden and Allison. I asked them to come over early to help out.” She said, taking hold of the handle and pulling open the door. “Hey guys.” She exclaimed as she saw her friends.

Allison beamed joyously at the sight of the apartment almost bouncing through the door with excited glee. Aiden, on the other hand, kept a mildly amused smirk, taking in the shiny streamers and banners while being quietly impressed by the transformation.

“I see you got the decorating part out of the way.” Aiden said to Anwyn as she stepped inside, raising a hand in greeting to Spencer.

“Oh, it’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Allison blurted in awe as she rounded on Spencer. “How was Christmas in Vegas?” She asked him, ignoring his overwhelmed stare.

“I… er… it was good. My mom and Anwyn seemed to get along really well.” He said, finally feeling a little more comfortable in himself. Allison looked from Spencer to Anwyn then back again with a childlike smile.

“What?” Anwyn asked, laughing and closing the door. “Why are you looking at us like that?”

“She thinks that the whole, meeting the family bit means that…” Aiden started but Anwyn interrupted.

“Why do people keep saying that?” She asked, walking over to Spencer, linking arms with him and smiling. “Why can’t we just date for a while without people jumping to that?” Aiden shrugged.

“When your world is full of rainbows and bubbles, anything cute and romantic seems like the most appealing option.” Aiden suggested while receiving a glare from Allison.

“That reminds me,” Spencer piped up. “Allison, I think you will make a friend tonight.”

“Oh?” She asked, to which Spencer replied with a nod. “Then, let’s get started!” She chuckled, jumping to conclusions in her head.

~

The tables were covered in every kind of nibble and cooked snack you could think of, each with their own tray or dish. The only places that didn’t have food on them were the spaces taken up with wine and champagne.

Much to Anwyn’s amusement, Allison had forced a silver, conical party hat onto Aiden after she’d finally sprayed her hair in place. Needless to say, Aiden was less amused and had tried exchange Allison’s colourful eye shadow with a dark black one, however, she was unsuccessful. The girls had been offered Spencer’s bedroom to get ready as he himself had been dressed and ready for hours, leaving him no use for it at that time. He sat, awaiting his fate in the living room, glancing at his watch every now and then.

When Anwyn stepped back through the doorway, his eyes lit up. She’d bought a short, black, bias-cut dress which ended just above her knees. Her matching, matte black, high-heeled wedges brought her to within a few inches of his height when he stood to meet her as she walked bashfully towards him. Her dark brown hair hung in light curls as it framed her shy but naturally beautiful features.

“How do I look?” She asked, almost finding it hard to look him in the eye out of embarrassment. Spencer could feel her apprehension, now that she was dressed and ready with only a half hour to go till guests arrived.

“Anwyn, you look absolutely stunning.” He replied, tipping her chin up with his finger and beaming with adoration. “How did I ever meet anyone like you?” Gently and slowly, he kissed her soft, pale-red lips, smiling against them as he felt her lean upward and her hands touch his cheeks.

“Aww.” Came a soft voice from behind Anwyn, causing them to part lips and smile before looking round. Allison had finished getting ready too and was stood in the doorway with a quaint smile, letting her shoulders sag. “You guys better not make me cry tonight, I swear, this make-up isn’t cheap.” She placed her clutch bag down on the prime retail that was an empty space on the table before wandering over to hug her friend, her stilettos clicking with each step on the hardwood floor. Spencer stepped aside, allowing the two friends to hug, noticing Aiden walk through the door at the same time.

“What kind of love-fest did I just walk in on?” She asked with feigned disgust as her friends turned to see her. Allison smoothed down her colourful sundress with her palms then held out her arms.

“Does someone else need a hug?” She asked playfully, causing Aiden to smirk. She stepped forward as quickly as her sleek, black cocktail dress would allow, throwing her arms around them both.

“You both know that I love you guys.” She said, pulling Anwyn and Allison in as tight as she could. Spencer looked on happily, seeing the joy this small group of friends brought to each other and how happy Allison and Aiden were for him and Anwyn.

It was a treasurable moment that was interrupted suddenly by a heavy knock at the door, causing the trio to split and turn to face it. Spencer looked at his watch in mild panic but seeing that there were less than thirty minutes he would accept it as fashionably early. Standing promptly, he moved across the room to open the door, revealing an always dashing Derek Morgan and a very pretty Penelope Garcia.

“Hey Kid, Anwyn.” Derek greeted as he saw the occupants smiling at him. “Thanks for the invite.”

“Right, wouldn’t miss this for the world… and being escorted by my big hunk of love is always a plus…” Garcia added but before Spencer could retort. “So who do I interrogate?” She joked, feigning an intimidating glare across the room.

“Come in guys.” Spencer said, finally ushering them inside. “Derek, you’ve met Anwyn but this is Aiden and Allison…”

“Hi.” Chorused the pair with a polite smile as Anwyn awaited her introduction to Penelope.  
“And this is Anwyn… my er… my girlfriend.” Penelope squealed with excitement, pulling Anwyn in to hug her, much to her surprise.

“If you hurt him, I know a lot of people with guns.” She said, still chuckling as she released Anwyn.

“I have no intention of hurting or letting this one go.” Anwyn responded, looking to Spencer.

“Awwwwww.” Chorused Penelope and Allison, which made Penelope pay more attention to the others in the room.

“Oh my God, I love your dress, it’s so…” Penelope started, trying to think of a descriptive.

“Rainbow chic?” Aiden asked sarcastically.

“Exactly!” Exclaimed Penelope, completely unfazed by Aiden’s joke which made Allison smile from ear to ear.

“Knock, knock!” Came a voice from the open door, making them all turn to see a grinning David Rossi and a lesser-spotted smiling Hotch.

“Hey!” Spencer greeted the pair. “Come in and meet everyone.”

“Thank you,” replied Hotch. “I think JJ and Emily are on their way up, something about last minute checks?”

“Understandable.” Anwyn said, offering a hand to Hotch with a smile. “You must be Aaron. I’ve heard a lot about you all.” His smile grew as he took her hand and shook it.

“And you must be Anwyn. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Hotch beamed and looked around in time to see Emily and JJ looking into the room.

“Aww, Spencer, this is amazing.” Emily said through a broad smile.

“Don’t look at me, this was all Anwyn.” He smiled, taking her hand in his as the compliments flew to her.

The guests quickly started to mingle in with each other as Garcia and Allison ganged up on Derek while JJ and Emily talked with Aiden over a couple of glasses of wine. Anwyn had been talking to David for quite some time when she wandered back to Spencer.

“That man is a wealth of knowledge in what not to do in marriages.” She chuckled. “And FYI, he also hinted at something to do with us getting married.” Spencer chuckled back to her as he poured them both a drink.

“Yeah, three wives have experienced his dedication to his job. Maybe you should run while you can.” He joked and she smiled, putting a hand on his arm.

“Spencer, you couldn’t scare me off now… because…” She paused looking to her feet for a moment then back into his eyes. “Because I love you.” The colour disappeared from Spencer’s face in an instant as anxiety set in.

“Anwyn… I… I…” The world around him disappeared and there was only her scrutiny and her feelings on the line but he couldn’t say a word.


	15. Chapter 15

The sweat beads formed quickly on his brow and his hands started to shake as the pressure built but after a long moment of watching the fear build in her eyes Spencer realised something. Sure, he’d been caught completely off guard and in the classical sense of relationships, this would have been a moment that they shouldn’t be ready for but the simple fact was that he’d never been surer of anything in his life.

“I love you too.” He said finally finding the three extra words that he’d been searching for in his head. Anwyn had expected the worst and had even braced for impact but when he did speak she relaxed, almost surprised that he’d said it. “Anwyn, I love you.” He repeated, making sure she’d hear it. A repeat that had brought just as much relief to her than the first time he said it, because it confirmed he actually said it.

“Thank God,” Anwyn said breathlessly. “I thought that maybe I’d done this too soon and that I’d scared you off.”

“I’m sorry I froze, you just… kinda caught me unaware.” He smiled, stroking her cheek with his hand. “Right now, I doubt there’s anything that can pull me away.”

Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing came from across the room as Hotch reached into his pocket and within moments, Derek began ringing too. Both anger and fear spread across Anwyn’s face as she began to make assumptions.

“Not today.” She whispered angrily under her breath, snapping her fingers. Spencer frowned and turned around just in time to hear Hotch speak.

“Oh, hey Jack…. Yes…. Are you having a good time with your aunt?” Turning back to Anwyn, the proud smirk on her face suggested she felt like she’d done that. Rolling his eyes before smiling at her, he took her hand in his.

“Don’t worry, no one’s going anywhere tonight.” Anwyn pulled closer, kissing his lips softly.

“Good, now, come on, mingle. The night is young and you can’t spend it all with me.” She said, turning him around and pushing him towards the others.

“Okay, I’m going, I’m going.” He chuckled as she pushed him towards the others.

~

Midnight was closing in. Outside, the snow fell on those who dared to venture between venues in the dying moments of the year. The magic of the holiday season had one last flurry to give before it subsided for another year and everyone who was still awake was hurrying to be a part of it.

The party had continued seamlessly as the drinks continued to flow and the nibbles slowly disappeared. Each of the trio of girls were deep in conversation with various members of Spencer’s team when the clock reached eleven forty-five. A glance across the room from Allison to Anwyn started the proceedings as the glance moved from Anwyn to Aiden. The trio grinned, making their excuses from their conversations to each move to items that had been stored during the party preparations.

Anwyn dragged a small table from the side into the middle of the room, catching everyone’s attention. As they all turned to look, all but Spencer unaware of what was about to happen, Aiden and Allison came forward with a half a dozen candles each. Aiden and Allison started to place the candles in an evenly spaced circle as Anwyn turned to the guests.

“Spencer has given us permission to share something with you all. Something very special to Aiden, Allison and I.” The group gathered around, looking on curiously. “This is a wiccan new year ritual, which helps us focus on our wishes for the year to come.” Anwyn beamed across the table as she stepped back toward the light switch

“The twelve candles represent each stage of the year.” Aiden started, producing a box of matches and beginning to light the candles one at a time. “We complete the circle ourselves, giving each other the strength to fulfil our goals.” Once all of the candles were lit, Anwyn turned out the lights, causing the group to be illuminated by the twelve dancing flames as they circled the table.

“We take it in turns to each give ourselves a goal for the year ahead.” Allison started, looking around the group. Each face showed only signs of listening intently with the exception of Penelope, who looked overjoyed and excited. “We start with the host and move around the circle, and when the last is spoken we must all blow out the candles.”

The group looked back and forth around at each other in wonder at what was taking place, unsure about what to say but Spencer knew exactly how to begin.

“I hope that, this year, I can become more open minded to things that maybe can’t be explained by what we see or what’s written in a book.” He started. “Perhaps to better understand what others believe.”

The others in the group looked to him as he spoke, smiling and nodding but it was Anwyn’s smile that he paid the most attention to. The pause of appreciation went on for a few moments until Spencer looked to his left, signalling Derek to go next.

“I er… I think my target for the next year is to maybe spend some more time on myself, emotionally, rather than physically.” He too looked around the group at the smiling faces. “So, yeah, there it is.”

“I think; I need to be there for my friends more. I feel like I haven’t been around them as much as I should and I want to change that.” Allison added without hesitation.

“I hope that I can be as brave and as strong as all my babies here.” Penelope said. “They give me strength and I feel like I should be able to give it back.”

“I think that I’ve made plenty of new year’s resolutions but… I think that I could do more to pass on my experience to more of the rising stars, maybe give a little more back to the bureau.” Rossi surmised.

“I know I need to open up more, emotionally. My girls know how much I love them; I just need to show them that more.” Aiden said, smiling to Allison then Anwyn.

“I’d like to take more time to see my son, Jack. I feel like sometimes this job takes me away more than it should and I need to work on that.” Hotch admitted, smiling to Spencer then Anwyn, almost thanking them without words.

“I want to open up more, be more passionate about things outside of my comfort zone, outside of candles and coffee.” Anwyn chuckled, continuing to smile at Spencer.

“I agree with Hotch, I think I need to try and not let work take my focus from my family.” JJ said with an almost sad smile as she thought about her children.

Finally, the group looked to Emily, who stood looking back to each of them with a puzzled look on her face. Self-analysis was hard at the best of times and right now she was struggling to think of anything, exhaling through her lips as she thought about it.

“I think I agree with Aiden. I think I need to open up more and let people in a little more.” The group nodded with her as she came to the conclusion before attention turned to the candles.

“Ok, everyone. On three.” Anwyn said before they all readied themselves. “One… two… three!” And with that, they all blew, extinguishing the flames and plunging them into darkness for a few moments. The room was silent as Anwyn hunted along the wall for the light switch to bring back the lights once more.

“Thank you, for sharing that.” Hotch said as the lights came back on. “It was wonderful.”

“Hear, hear.” Said Rossi, holding up his drink which he’d managed to find in the dark. The chatter started again as Anwyn made her way over to Spencer with a smile.

“How’d we do?” She asked, leaning towards him.

“It was… interesting. I’m very glad we did it.” He smiled back to her. “I think the guys really enjoyed it and got into it, which means they’ve really opened up to you. It’s made me very happy.”

“Good.” Anwyn was lost in his eyes as was he in hers. Neither of them paid any attention to what was going on around them, not even as their friends started to cheer and count. With each passing second the moved slowly closer and closer till the countdown ended and their lips met in a soft and gentle kiss.

The cheers echoed around them as the new year was brought in, with party poppers exploding confetti, glitter and streamers into the air. A storm of celebration seemed to whirl around them without affecting them in the slightest as they kissed, till finally, their lips parted and they stared into each other’s eyes once more.

“Anwyn.” Came a voice. “Anwyn, you need to have a first-foot for your apartment.” Anwyn turned to see Aiden shouting at her across the room.

“What’s a first-foot?” Asked Derek, looking between the two and expecting one of them to answer.

“A first-foot is the first guest to be invited into a home after the stroke of midnight, supposedly bringing either luck or misfortune depending on their sex and appearance.” Spencer started, as if reading from a textbook. “In the UK, they believe that a tall, dark and handsome male will bring good luck and must therefore be offered a glass of whiskey.”

“I’m up for that, what do I have to do?” Derek grinned at his self-categorising as Aiden and Allison looked to each other.

Derek was practically dragged out of the room by the giggling pair as Anwyn ran ahead to unlock the door. The group followed with amused interest as they travelled down the stairs towards Anwyn’s apartment. As he arrived, at the doorstep, Anwyn threw open the door and turned back to the smiling Derek.

“Please come in, kind sir.” She chuckled, moving aside to let him through. Derek hovered his foot over the threshold for a moment, laughing to himself.

“Oh, oooh, oooh.” Suddenly he hopped with both feet into the apartment, resulting in cheers all around.

“Good job, Morgan. You earned it.” Rossi said, stepping forward and handing him a large tumbler of amber liquid.

“Ah, I see. Well if being invited into people’s homes is all it takes to earn the good stuff, I should do this for more people.” He chuckled, taking a sip and wincing from the kick.

“Should old acquaintance be forgot…” Aiden started. “And never brought to mind!” Rossi joined in.

“Should old acquaintance be forgot for the sake of auld Lang Syne!” The group sang together, raising their glasses and celebrating the passing of one year into another.


	16. Chapter 16

“Come on, otherwise you’ll never get your surprise.” Anwyn said, leaning on the door to the apartment. She glanced around at the bookshelves full of his old books and the small altar that she’d set up the day he asked her to move in. It’d been two months since the New Year’s party and they’d gone from strength to strength. When Valentine’s day had come around, Spencer had produced a ring box, causing sheer panic and uproar till Anwyn opened it to reveal a key ring with his apartment key on it. It was a sweet yet scary gesture which had caused minor heart palpitations if Anwyn was to be believed.

The differences in the apartment were subtle but noticeable, as Anwyn had intended, expressing a wish not to alter his apartment too much. Her exact words had been ‘This is still your apartment, I just wanna live in it with you till we need to find something bigger.’

“Come on!” Anwyn shouted, expressing her wish for haste.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” He chuckled, moving through the bedroom door towards her while adjusting his collar.

“Perhaps our impromptu morning bubble bath was a bad idea.” She smirked, teasing him.

“No, no, there was nothing bad about that.” He said as he reached her, kissing her lips and then smiling. “See? All set. Now where are we going?”

“Well it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?” She said reaching into her bag. “Now, when we get in the cab, I want you to put this on.” Much to Spencer’s surprise. she produced a small, grey blindfold.

“Er… why are we doing that in a cab, we just….” Spencer started but was cut off by a bright red-faced Anwyn.

“It’s so you can’t figure out where we’re going.” She said quickly, trying to avoid embarrassment. “Just, come on, the cab’s waiting.”

~

Spencer carefully ducked his head down, edging into the back seat of the cab with the aid of Anwyn. She’d not intended him to put the blindfold on before he got in but he seemed to think it’d be a funny idea.

“Well, you were the one that brought the blindfold into it.” He chuckled, finally putting on his seatbelt.

“Remind me to be less gentle getting you out of the cab.” She said, climbing in next to him.

“Where to?” Asked the cab driver, turning to Anwyn.

“This address please, and take the weirdest rout you can think of.” She replied, making Spencer smirk. He couldn’t see their faces but he imagined the look of confusion on the driver’s face would have been mildly amusing. “If you don’t he’ll figure out where we’re going.”

The driver must’ve accepted that answer because a moment later Spencer heard the key turn and the cab’s engine rolled into life. Spencer closed his eyes, unable to resist the idea of working out their route as he felt the car pull away from their apartment building. Calculations flew through his mind as he tried to work out how quickly the car was travelling and how far they’d gone to reach the first turn. Three turns in and Spencer was pretty sure he knew where he was, just not where he was going.

“Spencer, stop it.” Came Anwyn’s voice, breaking his concentration.

“Stop what?” He asked. “I’m just sitting here.”

“I can practically feel you working his out. So I’m going to distract you.” Spencer smirked again, thinking she’d not be able to distract him by talking to him. That’s when he felt her hand in his lap and suddenly all directional awareness might as well have been tipped out of the window.

“Harsh.” Was all he said as the car turned somewhere but Spencer had no idea where. He tried hard to work through the distraction, trying to regain his directional awareness but Anwyn wasn’t done distracting him. Her hair brushed his cheek, followed by her lips pressing lightly against the skin of his neck, sending chills down his spine. Now he was completely lost.

Finally, the cab rolled to a halt and Anwyn silently paid the driver, most likely in the hopes he wasn’t able to work out where they were and how far they’d come by the amount she’d paid for the fare. Spencer heard Anwyn’s door close followed a few moments later by the sound of his door opening.

“Come on then.” Came her cheery voice. “Mind your head.” A spark of pain came from the top of his skull as it glanced the doorway of the cab.

“Oww!” He exclaimed, rising to his feet

“I warned you.” she chuckled, tugging his arm and pulling him away from the cab.

“Do I get to see now?” Spencer asked.

“Not… yet.” Came the response as Spencer was still unable to see a thing as he was dragged across the pavement. The wind had picked up, meaning that wherever he was it was open, not an enclosed street. Then came the sound of a door clicking open and a tiny little jingle, as though they were going into a store of some kind.

The next thing that hit him was the assault on his nostrils which was a mixture of something musty and earthy with a hint of coffee. The smell was familiar, almost homely to him, as though it was something he’d spent a lot of time with, which made it even more difficult to pinpoint exactly where he was.

Books. It was books that he could smell and old ones at that. Perhaps Anwyn had found one of the books on his want list? There were some rare editions on that list, but something told him that she wouldn’t be making such a big deal about this if it were.

“Ok, stop…” Anwyn said, cheerily. Spencer stood firm where he was, waiting for further instructions. He could hear her shuffling something around for a moment before she spoke again. “Ok, step forward and take of your blindfold at the same time.”

The instruction confused him, causing him to frown a little beneath the blindfold before he raised his hands to his face. He took a step as the blinding light hit him followed immediately by the impact of a person walking into him. Spencer stumbled a little, trying to keep his balance and stop himself from knocking the other person over. As his sight adjusted to the light he saw he’d knocked books out of the person’s hand.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry…” He started till he saw the first book on the floor. “’The Elements’?” Spencer suddenly realised what was going on, tracing his eyes up to see that it was Anwyn that had purposely collided with him. Looking around, he recognised the bookstore with all of its walls coated floor to ceiling with brimming bookshelves. Anwyn’s smile had spread almost from ear to ear as the realisation hit him.

“This is the moment that changed my life.” She said softly. “And I wanted to thank you for being there for me to walk into.” She chuckled as they collected up her books and returned them to her bag. Spencer laughed to himself, beaming as they stood up again.

“I would say it was, in fact, mostly my fault… but I’m glad it happened.” The pair shared a smile for a short while, lost in each other’s eyes, knowing that it’d be all too soon when their gaze finally broke.

“So umm… how about you buy me a coffee? I know a cute little place.” She grinned and Spencer nodded.

“You bet.” He said, beaming and tucking his hair behind his ear.

~

The people around them all seemed to be hurrying somewhere, as though everyone who bought coffee needed it to maintain their rush as they flitted from one task to the next. Spencer and Anwyn, however, had all the time in the world, sitting down at the very table they’d sat together at all those months ago. Anwyn had been looking through her bag for something but seemed dismayed, as if she’d lost whatever it was. Spencer pulled up his satchel, that seemed to stay at his side wherever he went, regardless of whether he would need it. His hand slid down into the depths and produced a candle, placing it on the table between them. Her eyes moved to look at it before they looked up to him with a smile.

“Is that…?” She started to ask.

“Yeah, I er… it kinda comes with me everywhere now.” He admitted. “I umm… I have it with me when I go on cases, to remind me of home.” Anwyn leaned across the table, taking his hand and caressing it softly.

The pair sat in the coffee shop by the light of the large yankee candle between them as the clouds rolled in. The rain on the window pane only added to the effect, taking the pair back to that very first fateful day that set them on this course and a course that would lead to so much happiness.

...


	17. Chapter 17

“You sure you’re going to be ok?” He asked, tucking her under the duvet for the fourth or fifth time in the half an hour since he’d gotten the call.

“Spencer, I’m fine. Honestly, it’s just a funny tummy. I texted Aiden and she said she’s gonna bring me some things to calm it.” She smiled to him as he leaned over her. “I just need one more thing.”

“What? Anything. Name it.” He asked but she leaned up and kissed his lips, pulling herself from the duvet.

“I’ll be fine, just be safe for me.” She instructed. He chuckled, pushing her back down and kissing her again.

“I will try.” He said, hovering above her with a smile as she stared into his eyes in wonderment.

“Go on, go. You’re holding everyone up and people need your help. Go be a genius.”. Spencer raised up, grabbing his bag and satchel before pausing at the door.

“I love you.” He said, turning to look at her one more time before he left.

“I love you too.” She replied before he disappeared.

Anwyn lay there for a few moments, trying to concentrate hard on slowing the swirling and churning in her stomach. The horrid lethargic feeling refused to give in without a fight as she pulled herself up to a sitting position, her eyes travelling toward the bathroom door. Why was it so far away? If only she were truly magical and could bring the bathroom closer somehow. After a short while the strength was not found but thrust upon her as she realised how urgent she needed to get up, dashing from the bed to the bathroom and throwing her face into the toilet seat.

It was somewhat painful, heaving so hard. Her entire body tensed up as her stomach rejected its contents in a violent fashion, stinging her throat and making her eyes water from the burn. Once the initial heave had passed, she sat, spitting the awful leftovers that had failed to make it past her lips. With a groan, she slumped sideways, just wishing it would all go away.

To Anwyn’s absolute dismay, it was that exact moment that the thundering thumping came from the front door. How was she supposed to make it there in any reasonable time? Through groggy eyes she glanced around, looking for something to pull herself up with, grabbing hold of the doorframe and the toilet to heave herself upward.

“Just a second.” She shouted, turning the handle on the toilet to flush away breakfast before shuffling through the rooms, picking up her bathrobe on the way past. “Eugh.” She let out as she reached the door, lazily placing her hand on the handle and pulling open the door. Aiden stood patiently, giving her friend a look of utter sympathy as soon as she saw her, holding back a chuckle as she saw the messy hair and vacant stare.

“Aww, sweetness, you look like death warmed up.” She said, stepping across the threshold and closing the door.

“Do I?” Anwyn asked begrudgingly. “Because I’m so out of energy I feel cold.” Aiden took hold of her hand and dragged her through to the kitchen.

“When did this start?” Aiden asked curiously as she started looking through the cupboards for mugs and a teapot, placing them all on the counter before moving to the kettle.

“I dunno, it’s kinda been building for a day or two now, I think.” She said, watching Aiden fill up the kettle.

“Well, hopefully this’ll help calm it down and then we can get Allison to work on finding us a spell.” She added, placing the kettle back onto its dock and hitting the switch. Aiden turned to lean against the counter, watching as Anwyn shuffled to a seat with a look of sheer self-pity. “So where is lover boy?”

“Oh, he got called away… he wanted to stay, said he’d tell them he needed personal time but I said if he didn’t go then karma would make me even more ill.” She smiled weakly at her deviousness. “Told him that he had to help others and that it would make me better.” Aiden chuckled.

“And he listened to that?” She asked as the kettle clicked off. Turning, she added what looked like a few crushed leaves to the teapot before pouring the boiling hot water in with it.

“He’s really opening up to what I believe.” Anwyn answered. “He still doesn’t always believe it himself but he respects my beliefs.”

“Well that’s an improvement, I guess.” She said, looking through the cupboards for something else. “Do you have any honey?”

“Oh, top cupboard on the right, I think it’s behind the coffee.” Anwyn pointed across to the correct cupboard.

“Ah, thanks.” Aiden said, taking the small jar and finding a spoon to add it to the teapot. “You guys are getting way serious. Are you thinking that this might be… you know… it?” Anwyn stared at her at a loss for words.

“I… I don’t think we’ve really thought about it, we just… are.” She replied, watching Aiden carry the teapot and the mugs over from the kitchen to the coffee table. “I mean, I love him, which is the idea, right?”

Aiden placed down the teapot before placing a mug in front of Anwyn and moving around to sit beside her. As soon as she sat, Anwyn leaned against her, allowing Aiden to put her arm around her. With one hand, Aiden lifted the teapot and poured it into Anwyn’s mug, causing plumes of water vapour to rise into the air.

“I’d say, yeah, it is the point. If you two are that serious about it, maybe you should start that conversation. Unless it’s you that doesn’t feel ready.” Aiden continued, pouring a mug for herself. The smell was intense as it drifted from the mugs, strong waves of peppermint and mild but sweet after effects of chamomile, all of which made Anwyn smile.

“I don’t know.” She said, leaning forward to pick up the tea. Holding the mug under her nose, she breathed in its wonderful aroma a little while longer before taking a sip. “I’m pretty happy how we are. If we’re doing so well, why change anything, you know?” Aiden nodded, placing her mug back down after taking her sip.

“I think that was a little too much peppermint.” Aiden said, pulling a face but Anwyn was unfazed. “Still, it’ll help… I just think that you should think about it. You never know, he might be thinking about it too.”

Anwyn’s friend was right. Spencer had been extremely excited when she moved in and ever since then they’d both spoken about how much the other meant to them. They’d spent time together and time apart and nothing seemed to change except how attached they’d gotten. Anwyn had gotten so comfortable with living with Spencer that she even let him talk to her while she was in the bathroom, something she considered strange but huge.

Another long sip of the tea rolled down her throat, warming her insides and calming the storm that raged in her stomach. Each sip seemed to quell the quarrel further.

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right, I just…” Anwyn placed the mug down on the coffee table, looking around at their things in the apartment. “It means that we’re a family, and other than his mom, my experiences of family are… not great.”

“Anwyn, it’s not like you’re moving to the suburbs to have two point four kids and buy a minivan. You’re just talking about what might be next when you are ready for the next step.” Aiden half laughed. “Hey, I don’t hate him that’s gotta be a good sign, right? I mean I haven’t even threatened him with violence since you guys did that break thing.” Anwyn chuckled, shaking her head at her friend.

“You’re terrible. Fine, I’ll talk to him about it, if it makes you that happy.” Suddenly, Anwyn felt a discomfort, moving her hands to her stomach as she closed her mouth to try not to throw up all over the coffee table.

“You ok?” Aiden looked concerned, leaning a little closer.

“I think I know what I need now.” Anwyn smiled and looked at Aiden. “We need chocolate, blankets and for Allison to pick up something from the video store on her way over.” Aiden chuckled to herself as she realised what she meant.

“Gunna be that bad is it?” She asked with a smile.

“Well, I’d kinda tried a few things to make my last one a lot easier to bare, you know, since we’d just moved in together. I think that the mother is gunna make me pay for it this time.” Aiden nodded, grabbing her phone from her pocket and speaking without looking at her friend.

“Well, at least we can rule out one cause.” She added, bringing up the messaging app.

“What’s that?” Anwyn asked.

“We can rule out the pitter patter effect.” Aiden turned to laugh at Anwyn who shoved her playfully.

“Just hurry up and get me some damn chocolate, and maybe a pizza.” She feigned a demand as her friend hurriedly texted Allison.

‘Girls night at Anwyn’s place, bring all girl essentials ♥’ - Aiden


	18. Chapter 18

For a phone that was set to silent, the buzz of the vibrate setting was incredibly loud as it rang, running away across the glass of the coffee table. A picture of Spencer’s face lit up on the screen as it blinked into life, further taunting as Anwyn’s hand chased it along the surface. When her fingers finally managed to snatch up the device, she sat back, hitting the answer button and pressing it to her ear.

“Hi, Spencer. Are you on the ground yet?” She’d grown fond of that, especially when she got her favourite response.

“Yup, wheels are down and on the ground. Are you home or do you wanna meet me out?” Anwyn’s smile grew even further as she glanced to her side to see the Allison was also smiling broadly and most likely fighting back a high pitched squeal.

“Yeah, Allison and I were going to go into town so we can meet you out if you like.” She said excitedly.

“Well, we’ve got a little bit of work to do in closing up the reports but I can meet you wherever. I take it you’re feeling better today?” Asked the tinny, electronic voice of Spencer.

“Much. I guess it’s just one of those things, you know?” Anwyn placed a hand on her stomach that hadn’t churned in a little while but still had warning signs of a potential relapse.

“Ok, well, we should go to dinner while we’re out. I’m sure Allison would like that too.” Allison nodded vigorously having overheard that part of the conversation, causing Anwyn to chuckle.

“I think Allison would like that, yeah.” She said with a grin.

“Awesome, it’s a date then. I’ll call you when I’m done. Love you.” Spencer said.

“Love you too, see you soon.” Anwyn hung up the phone, stuffing it into her jeans pocket.

“You sure you’re feeling up to it?” Allison asked, looking concerned as her friend sat there, sinking into her seat.

“I’ll be fine, I’m just tired from being so ill.” She admitted, smiling to her friend. “I just really want to see him and I promised we’d go out together… this just lets me do two things at once, if you don’t mind it.”

“Not at all, apparently I’m getting dinner out of it.” Allison joked.

~

It took all of her strength, every single ounce of it; to keep herself going, trying hard not to let herself look exhausted as she carried her little bags toward Spencer with a smile. There hadn’t been as much time as they’d thought and Allison and Anwyn had had to cut their supply shopping short. Even shorter due to the amount of window shopping Allison had done outside Macy’s, looking at shoes they’d never even be able to afford collectively.

The smile on Spencer’s face grew with each step they took toward him as he stood waiting by the restaurant doorway, moving only slightly as people tried to move by him. Once the pair reached him, he threw his arms around Anwyn in a warm embrace.

“I missed you.” he said softly.

“I missed you too.” she replied. “I’m sorry we kept you. I tried to get away as soon as you called.”

“My fault.” Allison interrupted with an awkward wave. “There were these heeled boots and… well… I think Penelope might tell you about them tomorrow. We’re considering a timeshare.”

Spencer chuckled lightly, releasing Anwyn and moving to pull open the door for the ladies. Allison moved quickly threw, looking quickly to see what tables might be available, turning back only to mutter “He’s such a gentleman.” under her breath for Anwyn’s benefit only.

Once the trio had finished eating, Anwyn finally relaxed a little, feeling the weight off her feet and the strain off of her arms as she tucked the bags under the table. Allison sat beside her, with Spencer opposite so that he could see the pair at his own request.

“I learned some new magic.” he started. “I mean… like, a magic trick… you know.” He dismissed his own retraction, waving his hand as the pair smiled.

“I wanna see some magic.” Allison chuckled as she shuffled forward, sitting up straight in anticipation of the trick. Spencer looked to Anwyn, who he’d intended to show the trick, as if he were asking permission to show her friend instead.

“I think you should do the trick on Allison, she’s not seen your er… unorthodox magic.” Anwyn smiled before leaning forward for a better look. Spencer nodded and looked back to Allison.

“Ok, do you have a nickel?” Spencer asked, pointing to her bag that had been hanging on her chair.

“Really?” She asked. “Don’t they pay you enough at the FBI?” Allison chuckled, teasing Spencer before handing him the small, silver coin that he’d asked for.

“Ok, now watch carefully.” Spencer placed the nickel onto his thumb, making a fist as if the coin had been a marble. Anwyn and Allison both watched intently to see just what he’d do with it.

Suddenly, he flicked the coin up in the air, watching it turn over and over and over, catching the light with each flip. With the same hand, he caught the coin, clenching it tight in his fist before revealing it to the girls. There, on the table, in the middle of his palm, was a dime. The small silver coin that Allison had given him had suddenly doubled in value.

“Wow, but…” Allison started in wonderment but Spencer raised a hand to indicate it wasn’t over. The pair continued to watch as Spencer tossed the coin back and forth between both hands, opening them both to reveal a single quarter. The coin had now increased in value fivefold. Anwyn and Allison stared in awe at the coin, never seeing a switch, never seeing an opportunity to produce a second coin or hide the first.

“But… it was…” Allison tried to fathom, leaving herself just as confused as when she’d started. Anwyn smiled at him, refusing to question it because she’d learned a long time ago that he would never give up his secrets. “Wait… where’s my nickel?”

“Oh, that,” he said, leaning forward and reaching toward her ear before seeming to pull the nickel from her hair “is right here.”

“Oh my God, how did you do that?” She exclaimed, taking the coin from him and examining it carefully.

Anwyn was feeling more unwell than she’d been letting on, her stomach was churning, her head was spinning and she was so tired that she felt like she could just slip into a deep sleep right there in the restaurant. She needed to pull away, to try and find out what was wrong before she let Spencer know she was struggling. They’d been together a while now but she still wasn’t ready for him to see sick day Anwyn just yet. Giving Allison a gentle nudge, she leaned forward toward Spencer, hoping that her friend would take the hint as soon as she spoke.

“Allison and I need to grab a few more things. Do you mind if I ditch till later?” Anwyn smiled apologetically as she spoke, hoping he’d just be glad to be home and back with her.

“Of course.” he said. “I have a few files I need to look over, so I could use the privacy for a while.”

Anwyn stood up, placing her hand on his before leaning across and kissing his cheek with a smile. Allison followed suit, taking up her back from the back of the chair without question.

“I’ll see you around, Spencer. And I will make you tell me how you did that, so help me God.” Allison pointed at him, feigning seriousness.

“Not likely.” he replied, smiling teasingly as Allison turned away.

“I’ll see you at home.” Anwyn said. “I’ll try not to be too long.”

“I love you.” Spencer added before Anwyn could turn away.

“I love you too.” she replied, touching his shoulder one last time.

“Anwyn, you’re scaring me.” Allison said as soon as they were out of sight. She was in something of a panic as they walked as quickly as they could.

“I just… there’s something wrong with me… I think… I need to see a doctor.” Her head was splitting and spinning as her stomach kept churning. Her legs felt weaker and weaker with each step and all she really wanted was to curl up in bed but she just couldn’t let Spencer see her like this yet. “My… my GP is just around the corner.” As she spoke her legs nearly gave out, causing her to stumble slightly. It took everything in her not to throw up there and then.

“Screw your GP, I’m taking you to the hospital.”

~

There was something about hospitals that Anwyn didn’t like; even though it might be a cliché, she’d always professed it. The lights were always too bright, the surfaces were always too clean and the smell of cleaning fluids and chemicals was unescapable.

Laying in a bed that she’d practically been forced into by Allison, she waited. The tiny cubicle of cyan curtains was far from stable to her as she tried to regain her focus but the exhaustion was becoming too much. All she could do was grip the hand that was resting in hers to try and remind herself she wasn’t alone.

“Thank you for doing this.” she said softly.

“Don’t be silly. I couldn’t just leave you, could I?” Came Allison’s voice in return.

“I wish Spencer was here. I wish I’d just told him that I wasn’t feeling well.” Tears started to roll down her cheek as she felt both guilty and lonely at the same time.

“I could call him,” Allison said. “tell him you took a turn while we were out.” Anwyn struggled to pull herself up the bed a little so that she could see a little better.

“Let’s just see what they say, then I’ll call him.” She hated herself for saying it but she was a grown woman, she could still look after herself, right?

It was in that moment that a young man in blue scrubs appeared through the gap in the curtain, holding a clipboard. Allison and Anwyn looked up, having spoken to the young doctor earlier when he’d taken a sample of her blood to be tested.

“How are we feeling, Anwyn?” Asked the young doctor, trying to sound upbeat to relieve her tension.

“That depends.” she started. “On what you have on your little checklist.” The doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise, almost smiling at her determination.

“Well, I have a few questions, just to make sure I’m not telling you something you already know. Firstly, when did the sickness start?”

“I… I think it was about a week ago… I thought I must’ve eaten something or… I don’t know.” Anwyn began to look even more worried, holding Allison’s hand even tighter. The doctor looked down his chart to read something.

“And you said you’ve had abdominal discomfort but your monthly cycle hasn’t been off or interrupted?”

“That’s right. I just thought it was to do with the sickness but, I can’t think of what I could’ve eaten to do this. Now I’m panicking that it’s something much more serious than that.” Anwyn admitted her fears, knowing that there was no point in hiding them now.

“Well, I’d say it is pretty serious, Anwyn. I’m not sure how the news will be received so I’ll just say it.” He paused, not for effect but in an attempt to alter his tone to cushion what he was about to say. “Anwyn, you’re around eight weeks pregnant.”

Allison’s mouth dropped open like a trap door as she looked at Anwyn, joy spread across her face but Anwyn looked at the doctor as though he’d told her she had a terminal illness. It couldn’t be. She wasn’t ready. Furthermore, she wasn’t even sure she wanted a family considering her relationship with hers. She couldn’t be a mother. She just couldn’t.


	19. Chapter 19

She was completely silent while she slept, Spencer had begun to realise. Being so ill over the last week or so, he’d not wanted to wake her while she had some relative peace. There was plenty to do in the meantime and he’d already procrastinated for a whole twenty minutes while watching her sleep.

His thoughts travelled back to the previous day as he moved away from the bedroom door, leaving him a little worried. Their conversations once she’d gotten home were even less revealing but she’d reassured him that there was nothing seriously wrong and that they’d given her advice to make herself feel better till it passed.

As he clicked the door shut, Anwyn opened her eyes, listening to him moving things around in the living room. It was her birthday, and he’d been planning something to help cheer her up. So why did she still feel like her world was ending.

Sitting up slowly, she looked down herself, placing her hand gently on her middle as if she might be able to feel what was growing inside her. It didn’t take long before a tear rolled down her cheek and her fingers started to tremble against the material of her t-shirt. She couldn’t tell him, not yet. He was too excited about her birthday and making sure everything was perfect. It would ruin everything to tell him now. Suddenly, the door opened and Anwyn withdrew her hand from her stomach, looking up in shock.

“I’m sorry, did I scare you?” Spencer asked, holding a tray in his hands. “I didn’t mean to.”

“No, no… I was just a little groggy from waking up.” The smell of the food hit her and all of a sudden she felt starving, like the last week she’d been evacuating space for this very meal. Spencer moved over to her as she sat up further, revealing just what he’d made.

“Happy Birthday, Anwyn.” He said as she eyed up the scrambled eggs and bacon.

The look of adoration she gave him was heart-warming, especially after all she’d been through, he still knew how to make her feel like an absolute Goddess. He climbed onto the bed beside her, placing the tray on her lap and smiling.

“You didn’t have to do this.” She felt guilty, having pushed him away from her while she was going through something he had every right to be part of. But how could she tell him she was pregnant only to tell him that she had no wish to be a parent? “Thank you.”

“Don’t be silly, you’ve been unwell and it’s your Birthday. I had two reasons to choose from.” He looked to the window. “Besides, if I waited any longer, you might have been eating breakfast after dark.”

Anwyn’s eyes whipped to window to see that dusk was already setting in and that she’d slept through most of the day rather than waking early as she’d thought.

“Oh my God, Spencer, why did you let me stay in bed that long?” She started to pull herself from the sheets but he stopped her, turning her cheek to face him and kissing her softly.

“You needed the rest, clearly. Besides, I needed it to be night for my plan to work anyway.” Anwyn was about to start arguing but then his words sank in.

“Plans?” She asked. “You have plans?”

“For you, yes, I do.” His smirk partly filled her with curious fear and partly with nervous excitement.

“Such as?”

“You’ll have to wait and see once you’ve finished your breakfast.”

~

Spencer hadn’t allowed Anwyn to leave the bedroom till it was dark, which meant she had started to gain cabin fever to add to her list of symptoms. If he’d left her waiting any longer, he was sure there’d have been scratch marks on the back of the door. As the door finally did open and he finally invited her into their living room she practically pounced on him, bursting across the threshold to take in the scene.

Spencer had pushed all of the furniture back against the walls, as they had done for the party, and placed two cushions in the centre of the floor. Between the two cushions was a small tray with what looked like incense sticks and a lighter. It took her a moment to notice the remaining element, as her focus had been on the seating. Surrounding the cushions, in a large circle, were all of the white candles they owned, which turned out to be quite a few.

“Spencer, what is this?” She asked gleefully.

“This? This is part of your gift.” He smiled, holding her close to him. “We are going to perform some magic… my magic first, then yours.”

Anwyn was overwhelmed at what he had done, trying to hold back her tears as she stepped up onto her tiptoes to kiss him. Her lips paused on his for a long moment as she felt the urge to be close to him for a little longer.

It was too much to resist any longer and she had to investigate the spell he’d set up, hopping over the candle circle and bounding to the centre to smell the incense sticks. The first made her smile as she took in its scent.

“Sage, to protect us from bad energy as we cast the spell.” Anwyn theorised, causing Spencer to nod in confirmation as he stepped across the unlit candles to join her. “And this one is…” She took in a deep breath through her nose and her smile faded.

“Honey. It’s used to…” Spencer started but Anwyn interrupted.

“It’s used to bind ingredients and energies.” She looked down at the two cushions and the ring of candles. “Spencer, this is an energy binding spell.”

“I know. It’s meant to be.” Anwyn still looked concerned.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” She asked.

“I’m binding our energy so that you have the strength to feel well on your Birthday.” His words melted her heart yet again.

“Spencer, this is… this is very personal and…” Her tears came back and she had to fight to prevent herself from becoming a blubbering mess. “It just means we’ll be part of each other in an even more spiritual way. I love it. I love you.”

“I love you too.” With that spencer took her hands, guiding her to sit on the cushion opposite him. Taking the lighter, he lit the incenses first, quickly filling the room with a heavy scent of sage and honey. The pair sat for a moment, taking in the aroma and joining hands. Spencer had clearly been shown how to do this, which made it all the more special to Anwyn that he’d taken the time to do it.

“Now what?” Anwyn asked, smiling in amusement.

“Now…” he paused. “Now we light the ring of candles, but first…. My magic.” Spencer leaned to the side, pulling a single candle toward them.

“You know candle magic?” She asked curiously as he lit the candle.

“Yeah, I do actually.” He chuckled. “Now here’s what I want you to do. I want you to take my hand and we’re both going to focus on relighting the candle as soon as I blow it out. Then, I’m going to light the lighter away from the candle.” This confused Anwyn but she trusted him, taking his hand.

With both of them looking at the flame, Spencer paused, allowing them to focus as they held hands. He held the lighter a little way away from the candle and took in a deep breath before blowing out the candle.

A heavy wisp of smoke danced from the extinguished wick of the candle and both Anwyn and Spencer stared at it, imagining it relighting. Spencer flicked the flint of the lighter, causing the tiny flame to appear and as if by magic, the candle relit a moment later. Anwyn felt a buzz through her whole body, feeling as if she’d actually contributed to the lighting of the candle even as Spencer started to explain for once.

“You see, when the candle is blown out, there is unburned fuel mixed in the smoke and it’s that path of unburned…” Spencer stopped abruptly. Something had changed. Something he didn’t fully understand and nor did Anwyn. The pair slowly turned to see the nearest candle still in the ring surrounding them. It too had lit, even though it was four or five feet away.

Cautiously, Anwyn took the lighter from Spencer with her free hand, placing it on the tray as they both kept their focus on the flame. She then took his other hand in hers, linking them completely, and as she did another candle lit, followed by another and another and another. Their eyes followed the trail in disbelief as the wicks spontaneously lit one by one, following the circle around and after a few moments, the whole circle had lit as if by magic.

Spencer’s mouth hung in utter shock and awe but Anwyn was smiling broadly, almost laughing with joy and amazement. The couple looked to each other finally and felt a warmth that didn’t seem to be coming from the tiny ring of flames that kept them captive.

“Best Birthday gift ever.” Anwyn chuckled. Spencer was at a complete loss as his brain struggled to come to terms with what he’d just witnessed, questioning his entire belief system and even considering such absurd logics as a hallucination caused by the sage or honey incense.

“The… the air currents… I mean… the candle smoke…. The lighter…” Spencer tried to reason but nothing made any logical sense.

“Magic, Spencer. Pure, energy from us both. A connection on such a deep spiritual level that it defies all logic and reason.” Anwyn chuckled.

“But…” He started but Anwyn shook her head.

“Some things don’t have to make sense to exist or to work, they just happen because they’re supposed to or because an energy wills it.” Her elation was something to be admired in the face of what had just happened, so much so that Spencer’s next question became the most obvious to be asked that he’d ever thought of. Everything she’d said suddenly made sense, and even if he was or would continue to question what had happened, some things just work, even if they defy logic and reason.

Suddenly, Spencer broke contact with Anwyn, causing her heart to sink as she saw the look on his face. She couldn’t see what he was thinking and the fear of what her world could do to her relationships set in until his hand moved to his pocket. There was something bulging through the material that she hadn’t noticed.

“Anwyn…” He started.

“Spencer, what are you doing?” A new fear rose, along with excitement, joy, terror, embarrassment, shock, every conceivable feeling as the small box appeared from his pocket and was thrust toward her.

“Anwyn, will you do me a great honour?” He asked, opening the box to reveal a small, white-gold ring with a glimmering diamond. “Will you marry me?”

“Oh my God, Spencer…” Anwyn didn’t know how to react, clamping a hand across her mouth as a million thoughts rushed through her mind.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be advised; there is talk of terminating a pregnancy in this chapter.

It was pitch black and almost completely silent in the room. The only sound was the soft and gently snoring that came from Aiden herself as she slept in her own bed. The day had been long and the night promised rest but not long after she’d managed to sink into her deep sleep, she was rudely awakened.

The phone on her nightstand buzzed angrily, flashing its screen as it tried to gain her attention like a child having a tantrum. Aiden stirred at first, unsure if it was part of her dream or reality but eventually she succumbed to the will of her electronic device, slapping her hand onto the night stand repeatedly as she searched for it. Once it was within her grasp, she sat up, and looked at the screen through squinted eyes.

“Two in the morning… two in the morning… what sane person holds a conference call at two in the morning?” She practically shouted down the phone as she answered it.

“Guys, I need your help.” Anwyn’s voice came from the other end, snapping Aiden out of her mood and making her sit bolt upright.

“What’s wrong?” Came Allison’s voice. “Anwyn, what’s happened?”

“I don’t know what to do… he’s just so… and I’m just… Oh my God, what do I say?” She babbled, clearly whispering.

“Make sense, damn it.” Aiden snapped, trying to jolt the truth out of Anwyn. There was a pause as Anwyn gathered her thoughts and took a deep breath.

“He asked me to marry him.” She said bluntly. Stunned silence hung in the call for a few moments before Allison squealed down the phone, causing Aiden to pull it away from her ear.

“Calm down, girl.” She said to Allison before turning her attention back to Anwyn. “What did you say? Did you tell him you’d think about it? Did you say anything at all?”

“No, no that’s not the problem. I said I would.” Allison squealed again.

“Stop doing that or so help me I will reach down this phone line and…” Aiden’s grumpy, rudely awoken thoughts came back but Anwyn interrupted.

“But how can I go through with this and not have told him I’m… you know…” She asked, truly not knowing what to do. “Help, guys.”

“Right, we need three things first.” Allison started. “We need a bridal store, cake and something sparkling… maybe something non-alcoholic for you.”

“Agreed.” Aiden answered. “We need to pull you out of the slump and let you think about this properly… but first I need to sleep, and if either one of you turn up or call again before at least ten A.M. I will break you.”

“Deal.” Allison said, followed immediately by a repeat from Anwyn.

“Awesome, now, goodnight.” Aiden signed off.

“Goodnight guys, and thank you.” Anwyn said before hitting the ‘end call’ button, allowing Aiden to slump backward into her sheets once more.

Sighing heavily, Aiden pondered what would happen now but more importantly, whether Anwyn would expect her to wear as cute and fluffy a dress as Allison would convince her they needed. With that horror in mind, she slowly closed her eyes and tried to sleep once more.

~

The bullpen was busy today, busier than usual as people moved around with files and folders, handing pages and papers to one and other. Spencer stood in the middle of the crowd, staying out of the blur of motion and just watching from the outside. The smile on his face caused people to glance at him as they passed, considering how odd it was for someone to look so happy while working.

“And what could that smile be for, kid?” Rossi asked as he approached, coffee in hand. “Let me guess, you broke your own record of how quickly you could read ‘War and Peace’?”

“Not quite, something much better.” Spencer returned, beaming madly as Derek wandered across as well.

“Wow, somebody had their morning coffee and then some.” Derek said with a grin.

“I just, kinda have something I wanna tell you all but I want it to be while we’re all together.” He looked around for the others.

“Well, now’s your chance.” Hotch said, walking up from behind him with Penelope.

“There’s news?” Asked a bubbling Penelope. JJ and Emily had also looked up from their conversation.

Suddenly the bullpen felt empty and Spencer was like a player on a stage, one who didn’t know his lines. Everyone stared at him and he suddenly realised that some of them might not understand or disapprove of his choices. The pause he’d taken to consider these things had caused everyone to move closer in anticipation as his jaw hung loosely, waiting for the words to come out.

“I… I asked Anwyn to marry me.” He said finally. Rossi and Derek looked shocked but the others seemed excited.

“Oh my God, what did she say?” JJ asked, practically hopping toward him. The supportive tone made Spencer beam as he replied.

“She said yes!” He exclaimed happily, much to the approval of the others as they all closed in on him. Hugs came from every direction and a hand reached across from Hotch.

“Congratulations.” He said, smiling for the second confirmable time in three months. Rossi, too, stepped forward to shake his hand, seeming to be over his initial shock.

“Well done, kid. Just don’t make the same mistakes as I did.”

The girls made a huge fuss over Spencer for a few moments, making fun and laughing happily with him. Everyone seemed overjoyed, but once most of the group had calmed and shuffled off to get on with the tasks they should have been doing, Derek stepped up to Spencer with a smile.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Morgan said.

“I know it might seem soon…” Spencer started but Morgan cut back in.

“Reid, you guys have been dating for what? Six months? It’s more than a little soon.” This had been the reaction he’d feared but when he thought more about it the more it seemed to be the right thing to do.

“I can’t let love slip away from me… not again.” The pair shared a long pause before Spencer spoke again. “I love Anwyn and I feel like there’s so much telling me that this is right that I can’t ignore it.”

A smile spread across Derek’s face as he patted Spencer’s shoulder hard before he pulled him in for a hug too. It was completely unexpected and Spencer had no idea how to react so slowly and awkwardly patted Derek’s back. When the pair released each other, Spencer looked at his colleague like he had something else to say.

“What is it, Reid?” Derek asked when he spotted it.

“I… I wanted to ask you to be my best man… or whatever the equivalent is,”

“Reid… I’d be honoured.” The smile on Derek’s face had grown but then suddenly he looked confused. “Wait… what do you mean by equivalent?”

“Well, we have talked about it and… We’re going to have a ‘Handfasting’ marriage.” Derek chuckled lightly at that detail.

“A’ight, it’s different. Just so long as I don’t have to wear anything weird, I’d be glad to be your best man or whatever you wanna call it.”

“There’s just one more thing,” he added. “Anwyn and I talked and we both agreed we wanted to do it soon so… the wedding’s next week.”

“Reid, what the hell?” Morgan shouted.

~

Anwyn smiled broadly as she opened the door to see her friends standing in the hallway, stepping aside as she welcomed them in. Aiden and Allison had come around as soon as Anwyn had text to say that Spencer had gone to work, now entering their apartment they took in the subtle changes all around the living room.

“Thanks for this, guys,” Anwyn said as her friends moved around to the sofa.

“Don’t be silly,” Aiden said, dismissing her with a hand gesture. “So let’s see it. It’d better be huge.”

Anwyn chuckled, closing the door and moving over to the seat by the sofa. She held out her hand to show off the ring Spencer had bought, grinning massively.

“Oh wow,” Allison exclaimed, looking closer. “That’s beautiful!”

“I know, right?” Anwyn agreed, looking closer at it herself for the hundredth time that day. “I hate to think how much he spent. I mean I’m not ungrateful, I’m very happy with it, I just… I don’t need lots of money spent on me.”

“Yeah, right,” Aiden started. “If you care so little for the material worth of it, tell him to get you a cheaper one.”

“No!” Anwyn exclaimed with a smile, pulling her hand into her chest.

“Didn’t think so… So, how are you doing?” Aiden asked, chuckling lightly as she looked around, noticing a new potted plant on the table by the window. The black petal flower caught her attention so much that she’d not heard Anwyn’s response.

“I don’t know, really,” she said, sitting back in her chair. “On the one hand, I’m terrified by how fast this is all happening. Like, wow. It’s only been six months and he pops the question?”

“It is a little fast,” Allison added.

“Well, yeah. But on the other hand, I didn’t really even have to think about it. I love him and I want to be with him because when I am, everything else in the world seems so… good,” she explained.

“What about the whole… other thing?” Aiden asked, finally turning her attention back to her friend.

“You mean the fact that I’m pregnant and I haven’t told him? Oh, dandy.” Anwyn hadn’t meant to be so sarcastic but she was trying to hide her fear, badly. “I just don’t think I’m meant to be a mother but if I tell Spencer then he might be devastated when I tell him I don’t want this and try and convince me to keep it.”

“What makes you think that?” Allison frowned as she asked. Aiden’s attention had been drawn back to the flower on the side table again, making her miss parts of the conversation as she studied the small brush of shrub surrounding the base of the flower.

“Come on, I’ve never even known motherly love and my dad? Where is he right now? He made it clear he didn’t want to be part of my life as soon as I was old enough to understand it.” Anwyn had gotten slightly angry thinking about her father. Realising it, she attempted to calm herself, taking a deep breath. “How would I even know what I was doing?”

“Anwyn,” Aiden started, still looking at the flower. “What is that and where did it come from?”

“Oh, that?” Anwyn asked, a little thrown by the change of subject. “That’s er… that’s a Christmas Rose in Juniper. I got it in town the other day.”

“Yes, but why is it here?” Aiden asked, finally looking back round to her friend. Allison looked very confused, looking from Aiden to the flower then back to her friend but Anwyn just looked down at the coffee table. “Is it what I think it is?”

“Look, I didn’t know if I wanted to or not. I just bought it.” Anwyn had gotten defensive but Aiden wasn’t letting up.

“Are you serious that you’d even consider that? Do you know how dangerous that would be?” Aiden had practically gotten to her feet as she shouted.

“Would someone fill me in?” Allison asked abruptly but for a moment, no one answered. Aiden had waited to let Anwyn explain herself.

“Christmas Rose and Savin Juniper… are poisons,” Aiden started. “But more specifically, they’re ingredients to a herbal remedy that terminates pregnancies.”

Aiden was staring at Anwyn as Allison turned to face her too. Their friend just looked back with a face full of guilt and grief.

“I just though… if I did it that way I’d be ill for a little while longer and then I’d get better and it’d be gone.” Anwyn tried hard to justify her thoughts but even as she spoke she lost faith in her own words. “I’m just so scared of what this’ll do to us. It’s dumb enough that we’re getting married already but a child? Even if I wanted it, it’s too soon!”

With that she burst into tears, holding her head in her hands with no idea what to do. Allison moved across to her, kneeling in front of her and putting an arm around her.

“Sweetie, no one blames you for being scared but… considering you are getting married soon, don’t you think it’s something you need to talk to Spencer about? I mean we’re going out to look at dresses. You can’t have that hanging over you, this is meant to be a happy day.” Anwyn looked up at Allison with a smile.

“You’re right, just… give me a few to clean myself up,” Anwyn said, standing and moving away from her friends to freshen up in the bathroom. The pair were left looking at each other with concern all over their faces and as soon as Anwyn had moved out of sight, Aiden turned toward the flower and pushed it backward off the table and out of the open window.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be advised; there is talk of terminating pregnancy.

“I swear to God, if you come near me with that you’ll be coughing up granny netting for weeks.” Aiden threatened as Allison shoved a bridesmaid’s dress that had been covered in lace toward her.

“Oh, come on. You’d look so pretty.” Allison teased, looking round as Anwyn emerged from a dressing stall.

The dress was a brilliant, white, satin gown which fell graciously around her waist and down to her ankles. The arms of the dress hung down with a taper past her wrists and the translucent shawl hung delicately from her shoulders.

“Oh wow.” Aiden said, unable to find anything else to say as her jaw hung open.

“Anwyn, you look… so elegant.” Allison beamed, struggling not to clap with joy.

“You’re sure it’s ok?” Anwyn looked down herself, judging the dress and how it hung on her frame.

“Oh my God, yes.” Allison reassured her. “That has to be the one.”

Anwyn smiled and for the first time since he’s asked her to marry him and for a while longer before that, she felt genuinely happy. And just like that moment, as soon as she’d enjoyed it she felt instantly guilty. She looked up at her friends with a weak smile before the tears broke through.

“Oh no, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Allison asked, moving to her straight away.

“I just… I know we’re doing this fast because we want it to happen in the spring but… is it bad that I’m glad I won’t be showing by then. How terrible is that?”

“Anwyn, don’t you think that maybe this is the universe telling you that he’s the right person to do this with?” Aiden piped up. “Think about it. He’s accepting of who you are. He’s kind, caring and he loves you. If there was a couple that could give love to a child it’s you and Spencer.”

Anwyn said nothing, she just smiled and moved past Allison to throw her arms around Aiden. The truth was that she was so scared of her own relationship with family that she’d never even stopped to consider that it had nothing to do with what they might be like as a family.

~

Spencer stepped in front of the mirror, looking at the man who was staring back at him. He could have been James Bond with long, unkempt hair and yet he pressed and shifted within the suit. Wearing a shirt and tie almost every day, he thought that the step up to something a little more sophisticated would have been easy but for some reason it just didn’t feel like it sat well.

“Well, don’t you look suave?” Rossi asked, stepping up behind him and looking in the mirror, startling Spencer.

“Yeah, just think, if a well-tailored suit could do that for you Reid, just think what it does for me.” Morgan joked, stepping up to his other side.

“What are you guys doing here? How did you even know where I was?” He asked, looking to one then the other.

“Well, we asked Penelope if she knew where you were. She didn’t know but once we explained what we were planning, she tracked you down.” Rossi explained.

“Tracked me down? How?”

“Oh, my baby girl is good.” Morgan said, smiling.

“Wait… planning? What were you planning?” Spencer asked curiously.

“Well, since you guys are eloping to Vegas but with guests, you haven’t left us much time to throw you a bachelor party.” Rossi started.

“So consider this the start of that party.” Morgan finished.

“Guys, you really didn’t need to… Hey!” Suddenly, Morgan had grabbed his arm, wrenching it behind his back before grabbing the other and doing the same, applying handcuffs to the unsuspecting Spencer.

“Spencer Reid, you are under arrest for neglecting to leave time for a bachelor party.” Derek started. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the strip club.”

“Guys, really?” He objected as they started dragging him away.

“You have the right to a lap dance. If you cannot afford a lap dance, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?”

“Guys!!”

~

The door clicked closed with the gentlest of pushes, thudding quietly against the frame as Anwyn released the handle. Turning slowly, tray in hand, she crept across the room toward the bed where Spencer was practically unconscious. The day had drifted in quickly and the sun was already on its way to its peak when she tried to wake him gently with a fried breakfast. Groaning as he woke, a single eye opened to look at Anwyn then the plate of greasy food she was holding.

“Did I ever tell you how much I love you?” He asked, opening the other eye and accepting the tray.

“I think you may have mentioned it,” she said, smiling broadly and taking the hot mug of herbal tea from the tray and climbing back into bed beside him. “What happened to you last night? I’ve never seen you so ill.”

“Do yourself a favour, if David Rossi tells you there are forfeits in drinking games, believe him and do your best to avoid it.” Spencer carefully picked up the knife and fork from the tray and started on his food in the most amusingly tender fashion she’d ever seen.

“That good, huh?” Anwyn took a long sip of her tea, watching him eat slowly.

“Well,” Spencer started. “I have to be honest and tell you we started at a strip club.”

“That explains this then.” Anwyn pulled her phone out, showing him the image she’d been sent. The image was a selfie of David and Derek with Spencer handcuffed to a stripper pole in the background.

“Oh my… really, guys?” Spencer exclaimed, looking at the photo. Anwyn put the phone away as Spencer sighed heavily and turned back to his food. “Well, it kinda went downhill from there. Morgan and Rossi can really put it away and I was told the forfeit for being last to finish a drink was a scotch chaser.” Spencer groaned again as Anwyn laughed.

“Don’t worry, Spencer,” she said. “I’m not worried, it was a bachelor party and your friends wanted to have some fun with you.”

“They did that alright,” he said, shifting in the bed to get more comfortable while he ate.

“Just be glad you got most of it out of your system last night when you got home.” Spencer looked up.

“I didn’t throw up, did I?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, a lot,” she started. “You have no idea how nauseous I was cleaning that up.”

“You had to clean up after me!?” Spencer all but pulled the sheets over his head to hide. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s ok. You’ve looked after me these past weeks so it was nice for me to get to look after you for a while.” The smile on her face was genuine and he’d never had someone do that for him before, even if she had been hiding something from him.

“So, you’re feeling better?” He questioned.

“Mmmm,” she had just taken a sip of her tea when she started to answer. “Aiden has been keeping me topped up on things to take away the nausea and since I’m not struggling with it I have a lot more energy.”

“Good,” He smiled weakly. “Have you figured out what it was that made you ill yet? It seems to have calmed down a lot.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I have. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.” Anwyn suddenly felt like she was dodging bullets, almost sure that he’d trip her up soon. Why couldn’t she just tell him? Was it because she was scared she’d lose him or that she was scared she would actually make it real if he knew?

“Anwyn, is there something you wanna tell me?” Spencer had turned very serious very quickly, causing sheer panic in her head.

“Umm… very much no.” He had to know, the look in his eye as soon as she answered was complete and utter disappointment.

“I love you, with every single part of me and I want us to get married but if you are unsure, just tell me. I’ll understand, because I’ve been terrified about this ever since I made the decision.” She couldn’t help but smile at him as he spoke. “I just need to know you’re being honest with me.”

“I… I am scared,” she said. “About a lot of things. But I think I’m more scared of not having you in my life or the thought of you not being there in my future.”

“Then why haven’t you told me about being pregnant?” Spencer’s question made Anwyn spit out her tea loudly. “I mean, I guess to most people, it isn’t all that obvious but I pick up on these things for a living. The sickness. The dizziness. Being tired all the time. I could go on and on about what I’ve noticed.”

“Spencer, I…” she tried to plead but he cut in again.

“Look, I get that you’ll have had your reasons but I need to know what’s going on because I care and I’m in this with you.” The guilt inside Anwyn had reached utter peak, forcing tears to her eyes so quickly that she had no chance of holding them back.

“Spencer, I’m sorry. I just… I couldn’t. I could barely admit it to myself.” She shifted in the bed to look at him, pleading with her eyes.

“Were you going to tell me?” He asked.

“I was going to tell you, I just needed to know what I wanted.” Placing the tea down on the nightstand, she moved across toward him.

“You were considering getting rid of it without even finding out what I wanted?” Spencer’s voice raised a little, making Anwyn retract.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t have any right to hide this from you and I’d understand if you wanted to call all of this off. Just know that I felt I had good reason and I love you.”

“What could you possibly deem a good reason to hide it?”

“I’m not a mother. I don’t know the first thing about what a good family is and I have no intention of doing to a child what my family did to me.”

“Anwyn, trust me when I say I know your past can dictate your actions in the future but you are kind and caring and the most thoughtful person I know,” Spencer grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward him. At first she was scared but then his arm moved around her and he hid her from the world. Suddenly she felt safe, like his embrace would protect her from all of her fears and worries. “I love you, and unless you want to call this off, I still want to marry you, because my life wouldn’t be the same if you were to no longer be in it.”

Anwyn sobbed into the sheets that Spencer had pulled up against his body, finally feeling the relief of the weight of truth being lifted from her shoulders.

“Spencer, I’m so scared,” she said. “I just don’t think I can do this. Please don’t let anyone else know till we know what to do. I’m terrified enough about the fact that we’re getting married so fast.”

“Shhh,” he hushed her, trying to calm her. “It’s ok. We’ll figure this out.” His hand moved to her front, placing it against her abdomen as if feeling for their unborn child deep within her. Anwyn looked up from his chest, placing her hand on top of his and feeling the warmth as if he was healing her wounds.


	22. Chapter 22

Spencer stood in front of the long mirror, adjusting his suit over and over, trying desperately to fix a problem that didn’t exist. Even he was aware that he was diverting his attention from his nerves but still, he was unable to stop himself.

“You’re gunna wear that thing out if you don’t leave it alone,” said Derek as he stepped into the room. He was sharply dressed, with a well-tailored suit and charismatic grin, as always. Spencer turned to look at him with a nervous smile.

“I can’t seem to…” Spencer started, trying again to adjust his collar.

“Calm down, Reid. It’s all good.” Derek stepped forward, taking Spencer’s hands away from his shirt.

“I know, I think I’m just a little… terrified,” Spencer started. “This all came around so quickly; you know?”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” Derek took in a deep breath then sighed. “You don’t have to do this if you aren’t ready.”

“That’s just it,” he replied. “I’ve never wanted anything more, it’s just that I know in a way you’re right. It is too fast, but I still want it.”

Derek shrugged his shoulder, unable to think of anything useful to say to him. He’d clearly already made up his mind and if he did truly love her, what could Derek say?

~

“Come on, pick up, pick up…” Aiden started, pressing the phone to her ear. “Damn it!” She slapped the phone down on the side table by the mirror. Anwyn was already distressed, having put on her dress over an hour ago her stomach threatened to ruin it, churning each time she thought she was safe. On top of that, Allison had yet to arrive, leaving both Anwyn and Aiden to prepare by themselves.

“Did you try her cell?” Anwyn asked.

“That was her cell,” Aiden responded, slumping down into a chair beside her. Aiden’s dress had been chosen to suit her, sleek and deep green, while the lilac gown chosen for Allison hung by the door to await its owner.

“Do we have time to go back for her?” The pair looked up to the clock on the wall.

“Only if we could be an hour late,” Aiden answered, not knowing what to say as she became both angry at one friend and concerned for the other. Anwyn sighed in defeat, looking to her only remaining bridesmaid.

“Well, if she turns up late, she turns up late. We’ll just have to do this without her,” she said. The disappointment in her voice caused Aiden to stand.

“I’m going to see if someone can stand in at least.”

“No, it’s ok,” said Anwyn. “Spencer only has Derek with him. Now it’ll be even.”

Aiden sighed, moving back over to the side table and picking up the small bouquet of lavender and apple blossoms. Smiling weakly, she handed the bouquet to her best friend and helped her to her feet.

“I guess we better get you ready then.”

~

The opening in the pinewood was decorated with ribbons and sprigs of lavender with an arch situated in the centre. The arch itself was woven with ivy and sage with mountain laurel flowers placed at each junction.

By the time Anwyn was ready to emerge from the small marquee that had been erected at the edge of the clearing, Spencer was already stood by Derek and the minister at the archway. The other guests had gathered and were seated, friends and colleagues were smiling and chatting and in the very front row, Diana beamed happily at Spencer.

Aiden poked her head out of the small doorway, looking to see if everyone was in their places and searching the group one last time.

“Still no sign?” Anwyn asked, becoming frantic with nerves.

“Not yet,” said Aiden, pulling her head back in. “But everything is ready. They’re waiting.”

Anwyn nodded, straightening up and holding her bouquet in front of her as she readied herself. Aiden nodded back, smiling and throwing her arms around her friend. The pair shared a long embrace till Anwyn came close to tears.

“Stop it,” she said. “I’ll ruin my make-up.” The pair laughed lightly, moving back to the doorway.

“Ready?” Aiden asked with a smile.

“Ready.”

Aiden pushed through the doorway, holding open the material so that Anwyn could step out into the open. The brightness hit her first as the sun shone down on the forest, forcing her to squint till her eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. Then the breeze brought the sweet scent of the laurels to her nose along with a mild hint of the lavender she carried.

All eyes were on her as she stepped slowly toward her future, smiles from everyone gathered were all she could see till her eyes found Spencer. Everything suddenly stopped and even though there was a small crowd gathered it felt to her like there was only him. Among all of the stresses and worries that she’d faced, he was there, but right now her worries didn’t exist either. Even the fear of rushing into things had subsided as she saw his wonderful smile. In that moment, she was happier than she ever had been.

Looking to each side, the group suddenly came back into existence, picking out certain faces in the crowd. When she reached the front row, Diana looked at her with such joy that she almost lost her emotional cool for the second time in the last few minutes. Finally, she reached the archway, standing opposite Spencer as he beamed at her.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied, her heart fluttering.

“You look amazing,” he continued, having watched her walk toward him down the aisle.

“You look pretty sharp, yourself.”

“Are we ready?” Asked the minister, to which both Anwyn and Spencer nodded. “Then let us begin… We are here today in this national park, to witness the binding of these two souls and to share in their happiness.” The minister looked to Spencer and then Anwyn with a smile as he produced a deep red ribbon.

“I would now ask that you both join hands,” He continued as they did as they were requested. “As your hands are bound, so too are your lives, so that you may hold and support one another in all the love that you share.” He proceeded to bind their hands together with the ribbon before turning to Spencer. “Please repeat after me. I, Spencer Reid…”

“I, Spencer Reid…” Spencer mimicked.

“Promise you, Anwyn Cordelia Singer…”

“Promise you, Anwyn Cordelia Singer…” he mimicked again.

“…that I will be your husband, to love and respect you, from this day forward.”

“…that I will be your husband, to love and respect you, from this day forward.” With the final remark, Spencer turned to look at Anwyn with a smile before the minister too turned towards her.

“If you could do the same… I, Anwyn Cordelia Singer…” The minister started.

“I, Anwyn Cordelia Singer…”

“Promise you, Spencer Reid…”

“Promise you, Spencer Reid…”

“…that I will be your wife, to love and respect you, from this day forward.”

“…that I will be your wife, to love and respect you, from this day forward.” Anwyn finished before the minister untied the ribbon and looked to the group.

“These two souls are now bound and need only a symbol of their love for each other. Do we have these symbols?” The minister asked looking to Derek, who patted his chest to check the rings were in fact in his inside pocket. Retrieving them, he handed the rings to the minister. “Thank you, now, normally I would ask at this point who gives the bride but as an independent I ask the bride, are you here of your free will and accord?”

“Yes, I am.” Anwyn smiled, without even a second thought to the fact that her father would never be there.

“With whose blessings do you come?” The minister asked.

“With the blessings of two… I mean… a dear friend.” Aiden answered.

The minister handed the first ring to Spencer, indicating that her turn to face Anwyn before handing the other to Anwyn and indicating the same of her.

“Spencer and Anwyn, these rings represent the unending love that you have for each other. Bless them and give them to each other as a sign of trust and faithfulness. Spencer, please repeat after me…. Anwyn, take this ring as a sign of the love I bear you and a token of my faith in you.”

“Anwyn, take this ring as a sign of the love I bear you and a token of my faith in you.” Spencer repeated, sliding the ring onto Anwyn’s finger.

“Spencer, take this ring as a sign of the love I bear you and a token of my faith in you.”

“Spencer, take this ring as a sign of the love I bear you and a token of my faith in you.” She repeated also, sliding the ring onto Spencer’s finger.

“Now that your souls have been bound together, entwined and held by the love you share. Now that you have exchanged these symbols of unity and vowed to each other that your love is true, I can pronounce you, husband and wife.” The minister smiled. “You may kiss.”

Spencer looked at Anwyn with utter delight and she looked back with nothing less, moving closer to each other till their lips met, expressing their love before all of their friends. The pair turned to face the applauding group, smiling and stepping away from the arch toward their future together. Everything seemed so perfect that all thought of their woes of the past week had faded completely out of thought until Anwyn had to stop halfway down the aisle.

Aiden knew instantly that something was wrong, rushing forward to her friend as Spencer steadied her. The smile faded from Derek’s face, as it did from many of the guests as he too moved forward to see what was wrong.

“I’m ok, I’m ok, it was just a little spell… I’m fine.” Anwyn pleaded but Spencer had already taken her weight. “I just need to sit down for a little while.

“I knew we should have waited till you were ready,” he started as Aiden and Derek caught up. “The stress might have…”

“No, it’s ok, really,” she continued, unaware that Derek and Aiden were right behind her. “The doctor said that I’m just one of the unlucky ones when it comes to pregnancy.”

“Pregnancy?” Derek asked a little louder than he’d meant to, causing the couple to turn in shock. Derek looked at Spencer but he knew the exact conclusion he’d jumped to.

“Yes,” Anwyn said, standing up straight before looking at Spencer. “As good a time as any for the news I guess.”

People slowly gathered around them, giving congratulations on both wedding and baby but Derek continued to give Spencer his look of disapproval, even as his mother hugged him.

“Oh my God, Spencer,” she said with her arms around him. “I’m going to be a grandma.”

“Yeah, well done Spence.” JJ said, smiling to him as she waited for a hug too. Once the guests had calmed and Spencer was alone, Derek was finally able to approach.

“Tell me this isn’t the reason,” he said. “Tell me you aren’t just ‘doing the right thing’.”

“No, no, honestly, I asked her before we both knew.” Spencer smiled weakly. “But this is what I wanted, right? To ask her to marry me then be a family?”

“All at once?” Spencer sighed heavily at the question.

“Maybe not all this soon but, maybe it was meant to happen like this,” he replied.

“Now you’re talking like her too. This isn’t the Reid I know.” The concern was evident in Derek’s voice.

“But it’s the Spencer I am.”

...


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be advised this chapter features death.

Spencer pulled his tie from around his neck, dropping it to the side as he smiled to her before slowly undoing the buttons of his shirt and untucking the edges. Anwyn returned the smile, softly and sweetly before turning around so that he could see the zipper of her dress.

“Would you mind?” She asked subtly, needing to give no further instructions. He slid the zipper down to the small of her back then softly pushed it from her shoulder blades, feeling the smoothness and warmth of her skin. As the dress fell away it revealed a white, strapless bra and matching white underwear. She stood before him, almost completely exposed for the first time in weeks but as she turned her smile seemed to grow weaker.

“Is everything ok?” He asked.

“Spencer,” she began. “I don’t know if I can… I just… with all that’s going on….”

“It’s ok,” he replied. “I don’t expect anything from you that you don’t want yourself.”

Anwyn stepped toward him, resting her hand and her head on his bare chest and letting him put an arm around her.

“Thank you,” she said, simply. Spencer slid his hand to her stomach, placing his fingers just below her navel.

“It’s strange,” he said. “I’ve never even had to think about it before but the way you stood in front of everyone and announced that you were pregnant… owning what has happened even though you’re afraid… I think that you’ll be a wonderful mom, whenever you’re ready to be one.” Anwyn smiled, looking into Spencer’s eyes as she slid her hand down to meet his, pressing his hand against her stomach a little more.

“Maybe you made me realise that a man can be kind,” she started, still looking up to him. “and a father could stay.”

“Maybe it’d be a first in both our families,” he said, caressing her shoulder with his other hand. “I’m just… I don’t know… terrified that I’ve dragged you into this too quickly. I mean, it’s been six months and we’re married? And on top of that, you’re pregnant?”

“Way to make a girl feel better about it,” she said, smiling in jest. “but I get it. I feel exactly the same.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied. “But at the same time, I’m not, because I realised something today as we were walking back down that aisle and all those people were watching us. I realised that no matter how scary it all was, while I was looking at you, I just felt like suddenly I could face it. Like there was something in that moment that told me that we can do this together.” Anwyn looked down to the hands on her stomach and then back up to Spencer.

“Together,” she repeated.

With that, she leaned up to kiss his lips, keeping his hand at her abdomen. Spencer walked her back toward the edge of the bed, turning so that he was able to fall back and pull her with him. Anwyn lay happily on his chest, kissing his neck as she shifted her bare leg across his.

Suddenly, a loud and angry buzzing came from the opposite nightstand as Anwyn’s phone lit up and danced around the surface. With a sigh, Anwyn looked up to the nightstand, moving up onto Spencer’s middle so that she could reach for it.

“Don’t you move.” She chuckled and she grabbed her phone, straddling his stomach as she answered it. “Aiden, if you think now is a good time, we need to talk… wait what?... Slow down. Where are you?... uh huh… oh.”

“What is it?” Spencer asked, seeing the look of concern spreading across Anwyn’s face but Anwyn didn’t answer, just continued to listen to Aiden.

“Ok, ok, we’re on our way,” she said hanging up the phone and looking down at Spencer in utter shock.

~

“Morgan, just listen to me. I’m sending you an address, I want you to get here as soon as possible. Something’s happened, I don’t know what yet but you need to get here.” Spencer clicked send on a message on his phone before snapping it shut as he climbed the last few flights of stairs beside Anwyn.

As they reached the top, Aiden looked to them with a completely distraught expression. Her phone was in her hand and she was rocking from one foot to the other in nervous displacement.

“Oh my God, you’re here. I keep trying but I just hear it ringing in there. I couldn’t look through the peep hole anymore…” Her eyes moved to the revolver on Spencer’s waist. “Wh… what’s that for?”

“A precaution,” Spencer said, moving across to the door. Anwyn wrapped her arms around her friend as Spencer looked through the tiny glass peep hole in the door.

With the shape of the lens, the view of the room was difficult to look at and the existing clutter made it difficult to pick out anything that might be out of place but something was evident, there had been a struggle beyond this door. There was an overturned chair in the middle of the living room and items knocked from a shelf that was on a wall leading out of sight.

“Allison,” he shouted. “This is Spencer. Are you there?” There was a pause of silence, not a single reply. “Allison, if you can hear me, we’re coming in.”

Spencer stepped back away from the door, drawing his revolver and holding it ready. The sight of the gun made Aiden recoil into Anwyn, who could only watch as he readied himself. Lunging forward, the heel of his foot met the door just below the lock, causing the door to creak and shift on the latch. Moving back again, he took another lunge, bursting the door open as the strike plate tore from its holder.

The open door revealed utter chaos. Not only was there an up turned chair but there were items all over the floor, having been knocked from the coffee table, shelves and other surfaces. Stepping over the threshold, Spencer followed the carnage, gun firmly in hand.

“FBI,” Spencer shouted, giving due notice to anyone who might have been in the apartment as he moved forward. The chaos continued through the room and into the short hallway, where there were scuff marks in the carpet and the photo collage on the wall had been moved and now hung unevenly. He looked into the kitchenette quickly, making sure it was clear before he followed the corridor. There were three doors along the corridor, two on the right and one at the very end. When Spencer reached the first, his hand moved slowly to the handle, twisting it carefully with his gun raised before pulling it open to discover a small closet.

Closing the closet door, he turned to the remainder of the hallway, edging forward slowly till he reached the end. Now with a door to his right and a door before him, he looked to the carpet to see which the scuff marks led to. The trail seemed to lead to the door to his right, causing Spencer to stop and listen for any signs that there might be someone there but there was nothing. He was about to reach for the door handle when the sound of movement came from the end door, making him turn quickly toward it.

Spencer’s gun was held, pointed at the door as he turned the handle, throwing the door open to find an empty bedroom. With a slight pause of hesitation, he moved forward across the threshold and continued to clear the room. The sound he had heard was the curtain moving in the breeze from the open window.

Anwyn and Aiden waited nervously at the door till they heard the sound of someone running up the stairs beside them. Derek appeared at the top step, looking slightly flustered and concerned.

“Where’s Reid?” He asked Anwyn, poignantly.

“He went inside,” she said.

“Alone?” He asked but this time Anwyn only nodded. “Damn it, Reid.”

Derek drew his gun, moving into the apartment as cautiously as Spencer had and taking in all of the details that surrounded him. The only other apartment he’d seen as eccentrically decorated as this had been Penelope’s, and he’d have hated to see it in this state too. When he rounded the corner, he too noticed the scuff marks that led to the second door on the right. Looking to the open bedroom door, he found Spencer and mouthed to him ‘clear?’

Spencer shook his head and pointed to the last remaining, unopened door. Derek crept toward Spencer, taking his place beside the door, ready to step in once it was open. Spencer reached down toward the handle, twisting it slowly and pushing the door inward to let Derek enter. With his gun raised, Derek moved into the bathroom as the door collided with the side of the tub. At first the room seemed empty. From outside there were no obvious signs that anything was wrong but as soon as Spencer followed Derek into the room he saw her.

The bathroom was the only room in the apartment that seemed normal, without clutter or colourful carnage. Other than the water on the floor, it was clean and tidy, as if it was completely innocent of containing anything untoward. However, the bathtub was full of water and laying just below the surface, staring up into Spencer’s eyes was a woman he’d grown quite fond of. The only woman who had come close to rivalling Penelope’s bubbliness and the only woman who could’ve completed the trio of friends that had become such a huge part of his life. Derek lowered his gun, letting his shoulders fall in dismay as he realised who he was looking at. It was Allison.

Spencer couldn’t believe it, backing away till he hit the opposite wall but unable to shake the stare from his wife’s best friend. Unable to look any more, his eyes tracked up to the wall above the tub to see the writing that had been crudely painted onto the wall in what appeared to be her bright red lipstick. ‘Witch’ had been written beside a strange symbol that Spencer recognised but couldn’t place at the time. His mind was spinning and he slid down the wall, sitting in the cold wet of the water.

“Reid,” Derek said, finally turning around to see his colleague. “Reid, are you alright?”

“She was… she was…” Spencer was muttering. “She was supposed to be at the wedding… supposed to be a bridesmaid… she didn’t turn up and… and Aiden came to see what was wrong...”

Derek watched Spencer’s eyes dart around the room and then stop on something in the corner by the tub. Turning slowly, he looked to see what it was, spotting the mobile phone down on the floor. As he picked it up, he pressed the home button to show that the owner had missed a large quantity of calls and messages.

“When she heard the phone ringing in the apartment,” he continued explaining. “she called Anwyn and told her she thought something was wrong…”

Derek sighed, looking back at the phone for a moment before taking out his own and opening the contacts. He was just about to call the local police when there was a sound from the hallway, which caused them both to look up.

“Spencer?” Came Anwyn’s voice. “Spencer, what’s going on?”

In that moment, Spencer looked from the doorway to Derek then to the body of Anwyn’s best friend and all that he could think was that he had to protect his wife. The mere thought that her friend had been killed was bad enough but to see it would destroy her.

Frantically, he slipped around on the wet floor tiles, trying to get up before diving for the door to prevent them from seeing their best friend’s dead body as he had. Floating. Staring. Lifeless.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be advised this chapter features death.

“Don’t come in,” shouted Spencer as he reached the door but Aiden was already upon him, pushing him back against the wall and forcing her way into the doorway. Derek rounded on her and he wasn’t so easily moved but her eyes had drifted to the side, looking down into the bathtub.

Anwyn couldn’t see what Aiden could but her reaction told her the truth she refused to believe. It was like her friend had been punched in the mouth, her hands clamped to her face and she fell away, only being caught by Derek before she hit the ground. Tears flew from her eyes as she sobbed heavily, trying not to look but the sight must’ve been so much that she just couldn’t even though she knew the answer, even though she had to step over Spencer and step around the door, she moved forward, feeling every moment passing like it was an hour in time, making the journey seem so much longer than it actually was. There was no sound to it either, as though someone had hit the mute button on her world. She could see Aiden screaming and struggling in Derek’s arms, she even glanced down to Spencer, who was pleading for her not to look and reaching up to pull her away.

Anwyn ignored all of this, moving slowly across the threshold as more and more of the deeply filled bathtub came into view. It became obvious that there was someone in the water, she knew it but she had to see it, it had to be real, otherwise she couldn’t believe it. Not ever.

Drawing level with the edge of the door, Anwyn could make out the arms and torso of a woman submerged in the bath water. She was about to look around the door when she felt the tug of his arms, trying to pull her back away but she refused to let Spencer protect her from this. Grabbing hold of the door, she threw it away from her, closing the door and revealing the woman’s face. Her friend’s face. Allison’s face.

The blank stare pierced the surface of the water and went right through Anwyn, piercing through all of her memories of the most life-filled person she’d ever met. Now the stare was devoid of life and it would be the last memory she’d have of her friend.

The silence seemed to fade away for a brief moment. Anwyn heard Aiden’s screaming and Spencer’s pleading as he continued to tug her away but her eyes were locked onto the eerie glare. That image was the last thing she remembered before the nausea set in and her head started spinning for the first time in a week, causing her knees to weaken. Then blank. Nothing. The world went black.

~

It was cold, much colder than it should be. The blanket seemed to offer no protection from it but she’d been told to wear it by the paramedic, something to do with shock. The paramedic had explained a lot of things but none of them really seemed to sink in. Nothing anyone had said to her since she’d come to had sunk in and nothing would sink in for the meantime.

Anwyn watched from her perch in the doorway of the ambulance as Spencer spoke to a police officer, most likely explaining what he’d found or what he thought about the case.

When he’d done, he walked over toward her, trying to look at her with empathy but he only seemed to manage pity. It only made her feel angrier. Angry that she’d had no idea anything was even wrong, and that she’d been upset about her missing the wedding. As her mind shifted to thinking about the wedding she realised that it had only been a number of hours since it had finished, when it felt more like a lifetime ago.

“How are you doing?” Spencer asked as he reached his wife, not knowing what else to say. There was no real response to that question but Anwyn’s tears had all but run dry. All she could do was look up to him and shrug. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her into his chest as he slowly stroked her cheek.

“This doesn’t feel real,” she said, hiding in him as she searched for comfort.

“I’m not surprised. I just… I don’t even know what to say to you.” He was right, there wasn’t really anything he could say in this moment because even though she’d seen it, her mind wouldn’t let her believe it.

“Is… is this what it’s like?” she asked him.

“What what’s like?”

“Your job,” she replied.

“No, not really,” he started to explain. “My job usually can be quite horrific but… this is a whole other level. You don’t ever think it’ll be you, not when it’s so sudden like this.”

Anwyn looked up to where Derek was stood and her friend was still clung to him, having only just stopped screaming as they brought her from the building. He smiled back to her with a weak and sympathetic smile, one he’d probably practiced his whole life.

“Spencer,” she said. “I want to go home.”

“Of course,” he replied.

“I want us to take Aiden with us, she needs me and I need her,” Spencer looked too; seeing Derek with Aiden and nodding.

“I think you’re probably right.”

~

The mood in the apartment was completely lifeless to the point of no one talking, even when Spencer had brought take out the conversation didn’t go much further than ‘thanks’. Both Anwyn and Aiden seemed to float around in their own little bubble staring blankly. He watched on as Aiden had slumped herself on the sofa in front of the TV, not really watching it, while Anwyn had curled up on the bed. Leaning against the doorframe of their bedroom, he tried to think of something to say, something to give them hope or another focus.

“Guys, isn’t there something we should be doing for Allison?” He asked. “Some kind of ritual or something to help her pass on?” Looking back and forth between the two, he watched as they both stirred, thinking about the question. Aiden looked up first, leaning around to look at him as she nodded slowly. Anwyn sat up a little in the bed, looking at Spencer with what seemed to be a look of gratitude.

It wouldn’t have taken long for them to set up but they had so little energy that if it hadn’t been for Spencer’s help they’d have taken all night. Moving all of the items from the coffee table, they covered it with a sheet and placed a picture of Allison in the middle with a short, white candle either side and a taller candle in a holder behind it. The focus of actually setting up the altar to their friend had made the time pass a little easier but now their focus was on her passing again. Spencer sat in the chair, holding Anwyn’s hand across the gap as she sat at one end of the sofa. Aiden sat at the opposite end, leaving a gap in the centre so that Allison could join them.

“All… Allison,” Aiden started, stuttering as she tried not to cry again. “We invite you to sit with us… one last time…” She struggled to get out her words, feeling the pain behind it all.

“We ask that you let us say our goodbyes,” Anwyn continued on for her. “So that you can… can be at peace… in the knowledge that you go on in this world in our memories.” Anwyn looked at Spencer, being the one who’d known her the shortest amount, he went first.

“Allison, I can’t begin to express how sorry I am but I want you to know that I’ll take care of Anwyn like you made me promise,” Anwyn squeezed his hand with a smile as he spoke. “I guess I wanna say thank you, because if it hadn’t been for you that day, I’d have probably never reconciled with her. So in a way I owe that to you and I truly believe that you were the best kind of person, who only saw the good. I hope you find peace.” Spencer’s eyes had begun to water, threatening tears that he managed to hold back till he finished speaking.

“Allison, I know exactly what you’ll be saying, that we need to get on with it and be happy and love each other but… how do we do it?” Anwyn asked. “You were the light, the bright beacon. So, how do we see our way forward without you? I will miss you, so dearly and it hurts to think that you’re not here anymore but you… you get to go see Amy. See her and tell her we still love her, just like we still love you…” Anwyn had meant to go on but she had started to cry and couldn’t go on, leaning across and meeting Spencer half way over the gap. He placed his arm around her and looked up to Aiden, who nodded and looked to the photo frame.

“Hey there, Allison. I don’t know what I’ll do without you. You were like the other half of me, making me see the cute and fuzzier side of life,” Aiden smiled as she spoke, which broadened as she heard Anwyn chuckle. “And I know I gave you a hard time for being the emotional one but that’s only because I didn’t know how to be so… this is gunna be hard for me. I can’t just deal with the fact that you’re gone, I just can’t… but I have to. So, I want you to go and make the other side an even better place. I know you’ll watch out for us and someday… someday we’ll see you again and I can be whole again.”

A single tear rolled slowly down each of Aiden’s cheeks as she stared at the photograph, illuminated by the dancing candle light. A draft blew through the open window, causing the curtains to flow inward. As the trio looked up, the candle in the holder started to tip forward over the photograph, threatening to fall onto the sheet. Aiden moved forward to correct it but as she did it fell, causing her to instinctively grab it. The flame and hot candle wax hit her palm, making her wince and gasp as she placed the candle back in the holder.

“We can leave this out for a while, if you’d like.” Spencer looked to Aiden and Anwyn for agreement to which Aiden nodded, rising to her feet.

“I’m gunna… er… get ready for bed, if you guys don’t mind,” she said, pointing her thumb toward the bathroom. Anwyn finally looked up from Spencer’s embrace.

“Of course, we should probably get some sleep too,” she replied. Aiden wandered away to get ready, leaving Spencer to help Anwyn to her feet. As he did so, he placed his hand against her middle.

“You need to rest,” was all he said. Anwyn nodded in agreement and let him lead her back into the bedroom. The moment they all left the living room, the candles faded to an ember before dying out completely, leaving only trails of dancing smoke and darkness behind.


	25. Chapter 25

It had taken what felt like a lifetime to dress herself, throwing dress after dress across the room in anger that none of them would fit her. Eventually, she’d had to settle with something that would fit over the bump that had begun to appear in her middle. The day was as sombre as it could have been, even the weather seemed lethargic and uninspired as the gentle breeze refused to shift the thick grey clouds that threatened rain. Spencer stood behind Anwyn, with his hands on her hips as he watched the proceedings. Aiden stood with her arm linked into her friend’s, both trying to comfort the other while the minister spoke.

None of it felt real. It felt like Anwyn was watching a funeral in a TV show or movie, where a beloved character had been lost but she was detached through the screen. There was no screen though, and this was her best friend that was being lowered into the ground, not some fictional character. All she could do was stare blankly till it was over and she could leave, walking slowly off toward a slightly older part of the cemetery. Stopping by a small and modest gravestone, she looked at the inscription, letting Spencer and Aiden catch up.

“At least you’ll get to see her, Amy,” said Anwyn, kneeling down to her old friend.

“We’ll see them again one day,” assured Aiden, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“We shouldn’t have to. Someone did this. Remind me why your team aren’t investigating this?” Anwyn looked to Spencer, who’d explained several times before.

“We have to be invited onto the case, and the local P.D. don’t want Derek or I involved,” he explained.

“Can’t you just do it anyway? You’re the FBI,” she exclaimed angrily.

“I’ve already given my thoughts on it as a case but they aren’t interested. Mostly because I’m so close to it, being friends with the victim.” Aiden and Anwyn winced at the idea of their friend being referred to as ‘the victim’. “Sorry, but you know what I mean.”

“Anwyn, he’s trying,” said Aiden, defending Spencer.

“I know, it’s just that no one else seems to be all that interested in it,” she replied. “What kind of world do we live in when we’re not safe in our own homes?”

“When I get back tomorrow, I will make some enquiries to see how the investigation is going,” said Spencer. “In the meantime, maybe we should go home.” Heeding his advice, Anwyn stood up straight, looking down to her friend’s gravestone for a moment more before following him toward the large black SUV that had brought them there.

~

They hadn’t spoken a word the whole journey, sitting in silence as the SUV rolled through the streets toward their apartment. Derek had driven them, sitting in the front with Spencer while Anwyn sat staring out of the window beside Aiden. With exchanged glances, the colleagues voicelessly shared their concern for Anwyn’s reactions. Aiden seemed to be moving through the stages of grief very well, but Anwyn was stuck in anger, climbing out of the door the moment the vehicle came to a stop and storming into the apartment block.

“She gunna be alright?” Derek asked, looking back and forth between Aiden and Spencer.

“She’ll get there. Thanks for the ride,” Aiden replied, opening the door and following her friend. That left Spencer alone with Derek, who gave him a look of empathy as he turned back in his seat.

“What’s going on, Reid?” he asked, leaning on the steering wheel. “You look like you don’t have any of the answers, and you’re who I rely on to know it all.”

“Anwyn’s angry at us for not being more involved with the case. She seems to think that nobody's doing anything,” Spencer explained.

“You know it always looks like that from outside the investigation,” replied Derek.

“I know, and I’ve tried telling her that but… I don’t know. I think she’s just not taking this very well and the hormones can’t be helping a whole lot,” he theorised. “I’ve tried everything I can to get her to calm down, even just sitting and talking to her she seems to be boiling over underneath the surface.” Derek shrugged to his friend, unsure what to tell him.

“Well, if you need anything,” he started. “You just give me a call, y’hear?”

“Thanks, Morgan,” Spencer replied. “And thanks again for the ride.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Derek as Spencer slid from the passenger seat.

~

“Stop it, all of you, just stop it,” he heard Anwyn’s voice as he climbed the last of the stairs. The door of their apartment was slightly ajar and he could hear the argument from downstairs. “I’m pregnant, not broken.”

“No one said that,” replied Aiden’s voice.

“You don’t have to; I can see it in your eyes. Every time one of you looks at me or talks to me or does anything for me you have that look of ‘poor Anwyn’. Just, just stop it!” A frown grew upon Spencer’s brow as he slowly approached the door, unsure if he needed to get involved or not.

“’Poor Anwyn’?” questioned Aiden. “What about me? I lost her too, I’m just dealing with it better.”

“Well good for you,” Anwyn started, heatedly. “I hope that soon you’re singing and dancing through your greenhouse with the birds and the butterflies.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well no one else seems to care that someone killed our friend,” Anwyn had started to cry, Spencer could hear it in her voice. “No one else seems to want to do anything about it. Allison was murdered and we just go on as if she passed away peacefully.”

“Anwyn, I…” Aiden was cut off as Anwyn started again.

“I still see her, staring at me, trying to tell me something. All I can think of is how terrified she was; how much she must’ve been filled with panic as someone dragged her to her own bathroom. She was all alone, no one was there to help her as someone drowned her in her own bathtub.”

“Oh my God, Anwyn, stop!” screamed Aiden as she broke down in tears. Spencer was about to step in when he heard something being shifted, pressing closer to the doorframe to listen. “What is that?”

“This is me doing something,” Anwyn barked.

“Where did you even get that?” Aiden seemed to question in shock of whatever it was that Anwyn had produced in that moment.

“It was Amy’s, she brought it home when she found out she was dying and was trying to find a way out of it.” Spencer’s eyes widened as images poured through his mind as to what it could be till he finally landed on the worst thing he could think of. He burst through the door, expecting to see Anwyn holding a gun in her hand but instead there was an old, black, leather-bound book.

“What’s going on?” Spencer asked but neither paid any attention to him.

“Anwyn, you really don’t know what you’re doing there. You have no idea what you’d be messing with,” Aiden pleaded, inching toward her with an extended hand. “Just give it to me.”

“Absolutely not,” Anwyn shouted. “I need to know what happened. I need to bring them to justice, one way or another.”

“Will someone answer me,” Spencer demanded but they still ignored him.

“Are you kidding me right now?” Aiden asked. “You’re pregnant! This kind of thing is dangerous enough any other time, never mind when another life depends on yours.”

“Stop it!” Anwyn screamed at her. “This is my choice.”

“You stop it!” shouted Spencer, finally getting their attention. “Both of you!... Now will someone tell me what’s going on?”

“That book’s full of dark magic,” Aiden started but seeing the patronising look on Spencer’s face she changed her angle. “Full of blood magic and dangerous spells.”

“Blood magic?” Spencer looked to Anwyn, asking for an explanation.

“Some magics require a more potent kick start ingredient,” Anwyn said, darkly.

“I don’t think so,” Spencer demanded. “Anwyn, you’re pregnant with my child.”

“Oh my God!” shouted Anwyn but she’d been distracted by Spencer long enough for Aiden to make a grab for the book. Snatching it from Anwyn’s grip, she darted over the sofa to stand by Spencer. “Hey!”

“I can’t let you have this, Anwyn, for your own good and as a friend,” said Aiden as she held the book close to her chest in her arms. Anwyn moved toward her around the sofa but Spencer stepped in the way, wrapping his arms around her and holding her to his chest.

She screamed at him, trying to break free of his embrace and slamming her clenched fists into his chest while sobbing profusely. Eventually, the sobbing overtook her angry energy and she just gripped his upper arms and buried her face into Spencer’s collar. Her world was changing so quickly, being tossed and turned and flipped upside down with every new avenue and it was becoming exhausting. It seemed like, for every good thing she got in her life, she had to take a punishment and on the day that should have been and to begin with, was the happiest day of her life, she was punished with the most horrific blow of all. The guilt seeped into every part of her, knowing that as she said her vows to Spencer, as happy as she possibly could be, Allison was already dead, laying cold and alone beneath the surface of the water. The stare would haunt her for the rest of her life, every time she went to sleep, every time she closed her eyes, every time she drifted into a daydream. It would be all she would see.

Spencer craned his neck to look back to Aiden, who looked back to him with the meekest of smiles, knowing exactly what he was asking of her. She nodded, sliding the book into her bag before slipping it onto her shoulder.

“Thank you,” mouthed Spencer.

“Don’t mention it,” she mouthed back, waving lazily as she turned toward the door and excused herself.

~

It had taken Spencer the best part of an hour to calm Anwyn down, carrying her to bed and practically feeding her the soup he’d prepared for their dinner. He too was exhausted, struggling to protect Anwyn’s sanity from her own actions while trying to figure out his own feelings. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he held his head in his hands, listening to Anwyn’s peaceful breathing as she finally slept.

Anwyn wasn’t the only one haunted by the events of their wedding day, replaying the whole thing over and over, looking for details that he’d seen to piece together what could have happened. Closing his eyes, he walked through the scene in his mind, picking up items out of the chaos, looking for a clue to unravel the case. Turning back toward the door of Allison’s apartment, he saw her keys on the floor next to the side table. She’d been attacked the moment she’d arrived home, meaning the killer had laid in wait. He’d known when she’d be coming.

Each piece of the chaos told the story, and Spencer was watching as the figure tried to drag her away through the apartment. Anwyn had been right, she was terrified but she was putting up a fight, kicking and flailing but unable to scream. Her arms dragged the items off the shelf as her foot caught the coffee table, knocking the papers and other items onto the floor. Allison grabbed hold of the chair, pulling it over as she was hauled away, meaning the killer was much stronger, most likely male. The last ditch attempt to stop her journey was her hands dragging along the walls while her heels dug into the carpet, causing the scuffs and the uneven picture frame.

Spencer lifted his head up, breaking the flow of his mental re-enactment before he had to watch what happened next. She was his friend and it was too much, even for him, to imagine what happened next, which gave him a greater appreciation of Anwyn’s struggle to come to terms with it.


	26. Chapter 26

The exhaustion was apparent on her face, a feeling of almost teary frustration threatened to burst out at any moment but she might have given up by then. The previous night had been a bad one, and on a day that she really didn’t need it to be but baby had decided that there needed to be an energetic midnight rehearsal for the big day. On top of that, she’d been completely unable to find a comfortable position to sleep in, resulting in a night spent tossing and turning as much as the unborn child had.

Spencer, on the other hand, had slept very well, much to the annoyance of Anwyn. He’d apologised many times over, but having had a long day at work he’d simply managed to slip straight into a deep sleep.

“I promise, when we get back, you can put your feet up and I will take care of everything. I’ll get you a nice herbal tea and light the candles and you can nap in the armchair,” said Spencer as he rushed around to get ready. They’d run late as it was, but Anwyn’s lack of coordination in her sleepy state was making everything ten times harder. Reluctantly, Anwyn allowed herself to be led towards the front door, practically asleep on her feet.

“Remind me why we don’t have an elevator?” she asked as they reached the stairs.

“Let’s just take this slowly, shall we?” he replied, chuckling and putting an arm around her to aid her down the stairs. As they reached the floor below, they both stopped and smiled to the door of Anwyn’s old apartment. It had only been just over four months since they’d moved in together, and just over eight since they’d first met.

The smiles grew to become much broader when Spencer slid his hand to the top of Anwyn’s stomach, resting it gently on the top of her baby bump. The idea of imminent fatherhood had begun to excite Spencer and even Anwyn was coming round to the idea of having a family with this beautiful man. It was obvious how much he cared for her and how much he would care for their child, leaving her with one conclusion that echoed something Aiden had told her months ago. That if there were a situation for a child to be born into, this would be the most loving.

Finally, the couple ventured down the last of the stairs to the lobby where they were met by the bright light from the front door. As they stepped out into the street, the wall of heat hit them both, giving Anwyn yet another anxiety. How well could she endure a cab ride in this heat in her current state?

~

Everyone was in a hurry, no matter where you looked they were either waiting impatiently or walking somewhere with haste but not necessarily speed. Bright, fluorescent bulbs positioned in evenly spaced grids illuminated the halls and waiting rooms, flooding them with unnaturally white light that was only marginally less blinding than the light outside. Waves of hot air seemed to waft through the building, uninhibited by the swinging doors that let more and more people cross the threshold every minute.

Anwyn had managed to put her feet up on the seats beside her, leaning into Spencer as they waited for their appointment. Sitting with his arms around her middle from behind, Spencer made sure that his wife didn’t tip off the edge of the seat as she napped in the warmth and relative comfort of her position. He was wide awake, looking around and watching as heavily pregnant mothers waddled between wards and exam rooms or nervous and terrified fathers as they paced around and tagged along behind their wives and partners. It had crossed his mind that he would one day be one of those nervous and terrified fathers as he waited for Anwyn to go fully into labour. A smile grew on his face, knowing that as long as his child came into the world happy and healthy, he too would be happy.

The appointment time had come and gone but still they waited, while Spencer watched other couples be called into the sonography room then leave with smiling faces. In all honesty, he didn’t mind. It wasn’t wholly comfortable and he was sure he was starting to get pins and needles but Anwyn was sleeping so sweetly that he couldn’t bring himself to wake her. With one hand on her stomach, he comforted his unborn child and with the other he protected his wife, keeping her from falling and keeping her wrapped up. In that moment, Spencer had no doubts that he had all that he really wanted, right there in his arms. All he had to do now was make sure nothing would ever happen to it, that they would all be as happy as he was in that very moment.

“Mr. and Mrs. Reid?” asked a nurse as she read from a chart. Anwyn woke suddenly, bringing her legs round to place on the floor as she tried to regain her composure. Once he was able to move past her, Spencer stood up and offered his hand to help her up. “We’re ready for you now.”

~

It wasn’t the most flattering of positions to be sat in, nor the most dignified as she lay back in the chair with her top pulled up and her pants tugged down to reveal the whole of the baby bump. Even the gel that had been smeared across her skin was cold and highly unpleasant but in the end it would be worth it.

“So, remind me what it is you’re looking for?” asked Anwyn, looking to the sonographer.

“Basically, a twenty-week scan is an anomaly check, using ultrasound to measure the baby’s growth progress as well as being able to see any health risks to the child,” said Spencer, rambling on instead of the sonographer.

“Er… yes, that’s exactly it.” Said the Sonographer as she readied the equipment.

Anwyn rolled her eyes, looking up to Spencer with a chuckle knowing that he genuinely couldn’t help spouting out the answer when he knew it. She placed a hand upon his on the side of the reclining seat, letting her expression change to show him her fear. Sliding her hand out from beneath hers, he took her hand, giving it a gentle and reassuring squeeze.

“And you’ll be able to tell exactly when I’m due?” Anwyn asked, turning back to the sonographer.

“Not exactly, but we can get an estimation based on the size of your child.” She replied, holding out the transducer. “Now, don’t be alarmed if we can’t see the baby straight away. Sometimes they turn shy and like to hide.”

The sonographer placed the transducer against the skin of Anwyn’s abdomen, letting the sensing face of the device slide across the surface of the gel. It was a very strange sensation but the anticipation of seeing their child for the first time was much more influential. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen as the image started to shift through grey and white masses. It was unclear what they were looking at till suddenly a small mass appeared with recognisable features.

As the image became clearer, tiny arms and legs became visible as well as the outline of a head and torso. Spencer’s grip on Anwyn’s hand tightened in excitement as he beamed to her before looking back to the screen. This was their baby, clear as day.

“Well, the baby seems to be completely healthy and growing well. Judging by the size I would say we’re spot on twenty weeks… which means your due date should be around the end of October,” she explained looking more closely at the image. “Do we want to know the sex of the baby?”

Neither of the pair had thought about it before, looking at each other as if asking what the other wanted.

“We… er… we hadn’t discussed it,” started Spencer. “Should we?” He looked to Anwyn.

“It would make choosing a name a lot easier,” she replied, smiling.

“Then I guess, yes. We would like to know.” The sonographer smiled, looking back to the image as she moved the transducer a little.

“Then I am happy to say… you have a healthy… baby girl,” she said, turning around. “Though it is policy for me to tell you that it may not always be one hundred percent but I’ve not been wrong yet.”

Anwyn gripped Spencer’s wrist with her free hand, looking up at him with the first utter joy of the entire pregnancy. There was a glisten to her eyes, as though motherhood was no longer a fear, making Spencer feel all the prouder of her. As she looked to him, all she felt was how much it meant to her that Spencer looked so happy, even if this terrified her, his joy outweighed that. But there was something more than that. All of a sudden it was real. They were a real family, father, mother and daughter.

Neither of them seemed to be able to say anything, just looking back and forth from each other to their daughter till Spencer tucked his hair behind his ear and moved closer to the screen.

“We can get a copy of this image, right?” he asked the sonographer, without looking to her.

“We can certainly do that, we can give you a digital version on a flash drive for you to print at your leisure,” she said with a smile. Spencer turned back to Anwyn with his absolutely amazing and wickedly wide smile.

“Imagine how much my mom will love it if I send her a picture of this,” he exclaimed.

“Diana would love that,” she replied. “Thank you so much.” Anwyn thanked the sonographer, who smiled before standing.

“I’ll give you a moment so that you can clean up and I will get the flash drive,” with that, they were left alone.

Anwyn took Spencer by the hand, pulling him towards her with more force than he’d have given her credit of having. They kissed deeply, if not awkwardly as Spencer avoided leaning on her or letting the gel get onto his clothes. Once she released him, she smiled softly up to him, unable to hide how much she’d enjoyed his lips on hers.

“I don’t say it enough, Spencer, but I love you. Thank you for being so good to me, to us,” she said, looking deep into his eyes.

“I love you too, but there’s no need to thank me. I think I should be thanking you for doing all the hard parts of this,” he replied. Anwyn looked off to the wall, grinning as she pretended to think about it.

“You’re right, I am doing the hard part. Do I remember something about tea with my feet up when we get home?” she asked, causing Spencer to chuckle.

“I may have said something like that,” he said back, grinning too before leaning down to kiss her again. “Let’s get you home, where I have you to myself.”

“Mmmm, that sounds like a promise,” said Anwyn as her grin turned devious.


	27. Chapter 27

It was the single most important subject in current affairs, more important than the economy, more important than immigration or even healthcare. So many people had weighed in, so many suggested solutions but still the answer evaded them. The question on everyone’s lips was, ‘What should Spencer and Anwyn name their baby girl?’

Both Spencer and Anwyn were struggling with names, wanting to pick something that would mean a lot to both of them in one way or another while trying to avoid picking a name of a colleague or friend.

“What about Helen?” asked Spencer, startling Anwyn as they ate breakfast one morning.

“Oh, I like Abbey,” exclaimed Anwyn in the middle of a coffee shop.

“Caroline?” questioned Spencer as the pair climbed into bed. Weeks passed faster than they had imagined, and without a decision on a name they felt like they were running out of time.

In the meantime, Anwyn’s baby bump had increased drastically in size as the baby grew, making many of life’s simple tasks nigh on impossible. Getting out of bed in the night to go to the bathroom came with its challenges, which was happening with more and more frequency the longer the pregnancy went on. Even walking from room to room had become a chore in its own right, but the nesting had kicked in and tidying had become her number one priority of the day.

Anwyn looked down at the dust on the side table, wondering how it was that an apartment with so few people in it needed cleaning so often. The cloth in her hand moved swiftly across the surface, trying to get rid of the dust before moving on to the cloth of the altar. She’d made sure to add Allison’s photograph to a frame so that she could sit beside Amy, between the candles and crystals. Every day for the past few months she’d pick them both up and wished that they could be here to see this and help her through it. Staring at the photograph that she and Amy had taken together before she passed away, Anwyn suddenly had an idea that filled her with joy and sadness at the same time.

“Spencer,” she called out, trying to get his attention. “I wanted to run something by you and see what you think.”

“Huh?” said Spencer as he wandered into the room, tucking his shirt into his pants as he finished getting ready for work. His eyes followed hers to the photograph just before she turned to him.

“Listen,” she started. “I know we said we weren’t going to go with friend names… the whole favouritism thing, but… what do you think of naming her Amy?” Spencer paused, looking from Anwyn to the photograph for a moment.

It was a name that would mean more to her than it would do him, but at the same time it would mean so much to her that it almost outweighed that fact. Amy was the name of a friend who showed Anwyn a whole new way of life, making her who she was today and this would be the ultimate in respectful gestures to her. There wasn’t a single part of Spencer that wanted to say no.

“If it’s something you’re happy with, then I’m happy. Amy is a wonderful name and it’d mean so much to you to have our daughter named after someone so important to you.” Anwyn beamed as Spencer spoke, barely waiting for him to finish before throwing her arms around him.

Spencer’s hand slid to Anwyn’s stomach, resting lightly on what was more a mound than a bump at this point. It gave him great pleasure every time he did it, knowing that the most important thing in his life was at his fingertips, the closest thing he could do to holding her that he could. The couple kissed lightly, smiling broadly to each other before Spencer dropped down to bump level. Pursing his lips, he brushed his hair out of his face and stared into the material of Anwyn’s dress.

“What do you think?” he asked her stomach. “Do you like that name? It is a very pretty name, and maybe you’ll be just like Amy Lowell, the poet or… a pioneer like Amy Johnston.” Anwyn watched on from above as Spencer continued to reel off more and more inspiring reasons to be named Amy, each one with its own story.

“I think I should ask Aiden if she’s ok with it first,” Anwyn interjected. “It’s not just me who lost her.” With that, she moved over to the coffee table to collect her phone, tapping the screen to open the messaging app.

“Hey, just thought I’d let you know we might have come up with a name and wanted your opinion. We want to call her Amy but I need to know that you’re ok with that too. ♥” – Anwyn

As she looked up from her phone, Spencer moved past her toward the kitchen, grabbing his cup of coffee from the counter to take a long sip. When he turned around, Anwyn was stood in the doorway with a smile on her face.

“So, when I get home tonight, I think we should rent a movie and curl up on the sofa,” suggested Spencer.

“Can it at least be one I understand this time?” she asked. “It’s not so much fun when you don’t know what they’re actually saying.”

“Not even with subtitles?” he asked in jest, stepping close to her.

“Not even with subtitles,” she confirmed as her text tone pinged in her hand.

“Aww, that’s amazing. I’m sure she’d love that. I’m totally ok with that. ♥” – Aiden

Anwyn beamed at the message, showing Spencer the screen to let him know that they could definitely use the name Amy for their little girl.

“That’s awesome,” exclaimed Spencer, placing his arm around his wife. “Amy it is.”

Spencer kissed the side of her head, letting his hand slide up to her shoulder as he held her affectionately. Anwyn almost hummed, she was so content, enjoying every moment of his touch before he released her.

“You’re leaving early?” she asked as he moved away from her to pick up his satchel.

“Yeah, Derek got me back for the instant gravy granules mixed into his instant coffee,” he explained. “I wanna get there so I can top it.”

“Oh,” Anwyn chuckled. “Then good luck, I guess.”

Spencer smiled back to her, opening the front door and starting through it. He stumbled slightly, looking down and frowning as Anwyn looked on at the small package on the floor in front of the door.

“It’s… for you,” Spencer said, picking up the package and placing it on the side table. “I will see you later.”

“Love you,” she shouted after him.

“Love you more,” he answered as he closed the door behind him.

Looking around the apartment, Anwyn tried to decide what needed to be tidied next but her curiosity over the small package took hold, walking over to it with difficulty. It was definitely addressed to her and was bound with brown paper and string. The old style of packaging made her feel slightly warm inside, as if it were a touch of a bygone era.

The feeling of excitement grew from within as she began to untie the string, wanting desperately to find out what it was but wanting to preserve the packing. Placing the string down beside the parcel, she unfolded the paper, revealing a large, heavy, dark leather bound book.

The excitement fell away, leaving only confusion in its place as she looked at the book that Aiden had taken from her. Why would she give it back? More confusingly, why would she wrap it up and have it delivered like this when she was so against it in the first place? None of it made any sense.

With a frown, she moved back across to the coffee table to pick up her phone, opening the contacts and tapping Aiden’s phone number. With the phone to her ear, she heard it ring once and cut off. There was a temptation to try again but if her friend had actively hung up the call, there must’ve been a good reason. Before she could give it another thought, a text message came through to their group chat, which had been kept open so that they could still feel like they were talking to Allison.

“Can’t talk right now, what’s up?” – Aiden

“Oh, I just wondered why you’d send the book back. Can call later.” – Anwyn

She was about to put her phone down again when another message came through.

“Not sure when I’ll be free. Just thought that you didn’t need me hiding it anymore.” – Aiden

“Ok, fair enough, that’s all I wanted to know.” – Anwyn.

“I love you guys, just so you know.” – Aiden

That had made Anwyn smile broadly, thankful that Aiden and Spencer had grown to be good friends in the time they’d been together. It had been a worry in the beginning, that they wouldn’t see eye to eye, as Aiden often didn’t with a lot of people. Anwyn was about to type a reply when a message came through that made her freeze.

“Aww, love you too, sweetie.” – Allison

How was that possible? Anwyn just stared at the message for a few moments, literally as if she’d seen a ghost. Surely Aiden would be freaking out in that moment too, or so she’d have thought.

“♥” – Aiden

Why would she reply like that? Unless this was some sick joke. Anwyn’s heart began to race as she glanced to the photo frame on the small altar then back to her mobile.

“♥” – Allison

This was becoming a conversation, and not one that Anwyn wanted to be part of.

“What’s going on? This isn’t funny.” – Anwyn

She was holding her phone in both hands, shaking with terror and with anger, not knowing just what to say or do.

“What’s the matter, honey?” – Allison

“You can’t be real.” – Anwyn

There was a pause. No one was typing as Anwyn stood waiting anxiously to see what would happen. When nothing happened on her phone, the anxiety spilled out as she burst into tears, all but collapsing to the ground as her legs struggled not to give way. What should she do? What could she do?

Spencer. Spencer would know what to do and she needed to get his attention if she could but she didn’t want to close the app in case one of them started typing again. Making the decision, she rushed to the window, looking out into the street just in time to see Spencer walking along the sidewalk.

With all the haste and none of the speed, Anwyn fumbled with the window latch before throwing open the window and screaming down the street, not caring for what time in the morning it was.

“Spencer!” she screamed at the top of her voice. It was all it took for him to turn around and look up at her. She didn’t even need to shout again, taking it that there was something seriously wrong, he began to rush back to her.

Anwyn pulled herself back into the window to look down at her phone, seeing the little message in the top corner that read ‘Allison is typing…’. Panic rose within her and her heart was thundering so loudly she could hear it in her ears, needing to sit down to avoid falling. After a few seconds the message came through, filling Anwyn with more terror than she could have ever imagined.

“We’ll see you soon, x” - Allison


	28. Chapter 28

“I… I have no idea,” Anwyn explained with tears running down her cheeks.

“It’s alright. I know it’s hard but try to remain calm,” said Aaron. “When did you last speak to Aiden?”

At that exact moment, the armed police officers covered both sides of the apartment door as Derek stood front and centre. With a heavy boot, the door was thrown inwards, splintering the strike plate from the doorframe with force. The men piled in, sweeping room to room, finding nothing.

“She um… she visited us a few days ago but I called her yesterday,” Anwyn continued, trying to remember. “She was growing some herbs that would help me and she said she was going to collect some of them.”

“She was going to the greenhouse?” Aaron asked.

David and JJ edged along the pathway between the greenhouses, weapons drawn and at the ready. As they approached the doorway, it was evident that something wasn’t right. There were scuff marks in the grassy verge to the side of the sliding glass door and overturned plant pots just in the doorway. There was no one inside, just rows of plants, flowers, shrubs and grasses. As they pushed open the door, they saw it.

“Yes, I think so,” she answered, looking around to Spencer to see if he could confirm it. Spencer sat beside her at the round table as she spoke with Aaron, trying to keep her calm.

“Yeah, she was.” Spencer confirmed, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

“Well, we have people searching her home and the greenhouse to see what we can find,” Aaron started but was cut off by his phone ringing. Looking at the screen, he knew to answer it straight away. “Rossi, what have you found?”

“Well, the writing is definitely on the wall,” came David’s voice. “The word ‘Witch’ is written in some kind of dirt on the inside of the glass with some kind of symbol at the end. JJ is sending you a picture now.”

“Ok, thanks, Dave,” replied Aaron before ending the call without a goodbye. The image came through almost immediately, lighting up the screen with the horrid writing and symbol before Aaron turned the phone towards Anwyn. “Does this symbol mean anything to you?”

Both Spencer and Anwyn leaned forward, looking at the image on the screen to try and make out the symbol. It was, in fact, the same symbol that had been on the wall in Allison’s bathroom; a hollow, equal cross through a circle.

“I… I don’t think so,” she replied, looking hard at the image but Spencer was the one who recognised it.

“I’ve seen this before,” he paused, trying to think of where he’d seen it. “It was in an old history book that I was reading to learn more about Wicca.”

“What does it mean?” asked Aaron.

“If I remember rightly, it was on old mark used by witch hunter,” he said, looking from Aaron to Anwyn. “They’re hunting witches.”

As Spencer turned to Anwyn, Aaron had tapped something into his phone before putting it to his ear.

“Garcia, I just sent you an image, I need you to check records and see if there have been any murders in the past ten years where the symbol was involved,” he instructed.

“Can do boss, on it,” came a bubbly voice from the other end just before the call ended. There was a pause as Aaron tried to figure the best way to tell Anwyn the next part.

“The parcel that was delivered to you, was most likely sent by whoever it was that took Aiden, which means he knows where you live and has most likely been watching you,” he explained, causing Anwyn to almost sink into herself as she thought about just how long that meant she’d been being watched. “To keep you safe, we want to put you into the witness protection program and get you to safety.” Spencer put his hands on her shoulders, reassuring her that it would be ok.

“Wait,” he said suddenly, realising something important. “What about me? I can’t leave her alone but I have to be part of the investigation. I need to find this guy.”

“Spencer, I can’t force you into the program but whatever you decide, you can’t go between while this unsub is on the loose,” replied Aaron. “If you go with her, you can’t take part in the investigation or speak to the team, but if you stay here then you won’t be able to see to speak to Anwyn.”

Spencer had no idea what to do. Either way, he felt like he’d be failing Anwyn and his unborn daughter, either by being there for them but not helping catch the threat or by helping catch the threat but leaving them unprotected and neglected. Looking back to Anwyn, he tried to see what her reaction was but she was still reeling from the idea of being watched.

“What do you think I should do?” he asked, trying to bring her back to them.

“I… I… I don’t know, Spencer,” she stuttered. “I just want to go home with you. Can’t we just do that?”

“I can’t force you to go but I have reason to believe you’ll be in danger,” Aaron reasoned.

“But…” she tried to argue but Aaron’s phone had started to ring.

“Garcia,” he said, answering the phone.

“Sir, I’ve just found a whole host of abductions and murders, leading back over the last five years,” came Penelope’s voice yet again.

“Why weren’t they flagged up?” asked Aaron.

“Well, they’re all spread out through different states. Never two kills in a row in one state.”

“That doesn’t match here, but if this is the same killer, why would the MO change?” he asked.

“Well, sir, in each murder, the victim was a young woman, each practicing some form of peaceful pagan worship. Maybe there’s something about Washington that has him drawn in?”

“Either something happened here that started it all or this is where he was aiming for in the first place,” answered Aaron. “Ok, thanks, Garcia.” With that he hung up again, sliding the phone into his pocket.

“Most cases of witch hunting can be found with deep religious belief, usually caused by some apparent brush with evil or extreme religious faction,” Spencer spouted, trying to be helpful. “It was thought that in New England, there were more cases of suspected witches than…”

“Spencer, I think you should stay here and help your team,” said Anwyn, suddenly. So suddenly that Spencer didn’t know what to say, caught completely off guard.

“You… you want me to stay here?” he asked, finally finding his speech. “But I won’t be able to see you.”

“I don’t want to run away but I have to think of the baby more than myself,” she started. “With you here, at least one of us can fight this.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Spencer, I’ll be safer when you find this psychopath and the quicker you do it the more likely you can…” she paused, realising the weight of what she was about to consider. “…the more likely you can find Aiden.”

“But…”

“We’ll be safe, I’m sure,” Anwyn said, stopping Spencer from arguing but looking to Aaron for reassurance.

“The witness protection program will be able to hide you, even from us, but there are weaknesses,” Aaron explained. “You will need to stick to a break in communication. If we need anything from you, it will go through the Marshalls.” Anwyn nodded sadly as Spencer looked on, unable to dissuade or even interject on her decision. He knew deep down that she was right and that the team would most likely need his more recently gained knowledge. That didn’t mean that he had to be happy about his wife being away from him with no possible contact.

“When would I go?” she asked.

“Right now. Spencer can pick up some personal items and they can be sent to you,” he answered, standing from the round table. “I’ll give you guys some time alone.”

“Thank you,” said Spencer, glancing up to his superior with a sad smile as he left. “Are you completely sure about this?” Spencer placed his arms around his wife as he spoke, holding her as tight as he dared.

“I’m completely sure about it. Spencer, don’t think that I won’t be upset, because it’ll kill me to be away from you,” she started. “Promise me you’ll catch this guy and make him pay for what he’s done.”

“I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re safe,” he said, kissing her cheek while trying to hide his tears.

Anwyn made no such effort as their embrace ended, letting the tears flow down her face and holding on to his hands for as long as she could. It was slowly starting to sink in that she would be alone, completely and utterly. Even more alone than before Spencer had come into her life.

“Spencer, make this go away. Please, I beg you,” she started as she began to sob, pulling on his clothing. Taking hold of either side of her face, he made her look up to him.

“I will do everything it takes. I’d rather die than let anything happen to you.” It was that moment that Aaron walked back into the room.

“Anwyn, we need to go,” he said, feeling extremely disheartened by what he was doing but knowing that it was necessary. Spencer stood up, pulling himself from her grip as he knew exactly what he had to do.

“I love you, Anwyn. Always,” he said, lingering as long as he could and pursing his lips to hold back his tears.

“I love you too,” she said as her heart almost wrenched from her chest, barely managing to hold back from sobbing even more. Spencer walked away, using every single bit of willpower he had not to turn back around.

Anwyn watched as Spencer stopped to talk to his superior, making sure neither were watching as she slowly leaned across the table to the book of dark magic that had laid there, unprotected. Glancing up a few times, she made sure that neither of the agents were looking so that she could pull the book toward her, placing it in her bag as discreetly as she could. Once it was hidden in her bag, she stood up, watching Spencer leave with the heaviest heart since she’d lost her best friend.

“Are you ready?” asked Aaron, causing Anwyn to look up in shock. She hadn’t expected it so suddenly, but it was evident that he hadn’t seen her take the book. Reluctantly, Anwyn nodded, standing up and walking toward the door and toward the man that would lead her away from the one thing that she and her unborn child had left.

“I’m ready,” she said firmly, trying to remain strong but falling apart in every way inside.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be advised this chapter includes mentions of torture.

“How long has he been sat there?” asked JJ, looking across at Spencer. The bullpen was quiet and sombre as every member of the team got on with their work, fully aware that one of their own was in distress.

Spencer sat at his desk, staring at the brown paper that had packaged the book. So far, there had been no leads. Beside the paper was a pile of case files, which told him nothing other than the fact that the trail had gone cold on the witch killings outside of the Washington area and there seemed to be no trace evidence left at either abduction scenes.

“He’s been there since Anwyn left. He refuses to go home,” replied Aaron.

“But it’s been nearly a week!” exclaimed JJ.

“And, like I said, he refuses to go home,” he explained, watching Spencer move back to the case files. “He’s been sleeping on the sofa in Dave’s office overnight and then he only moves from his desk to eat, drink coffee or go to the bathroom.”

“Is he scared to be home?” she asked.

“No, I think he’s more determined to get his wife back,” he started, looking to her. “Wouldn’t you be?” It was at that moment that Derek had walked over to Spencer’s desk, giving him an empathetic look as he half sat on the edge.

“How’re you doing, kid?” he asked quietly.

“I’m… dealing,” replied Spencer. “I just… I think there’s something we missed.”

“Like what?”

“So, I looked through the previous files and the only consistency in the methods of killing was the use of medieval style execution. Drowning, beheading, burning, hanging, you name it, but every single one of the victims had an antemortem laceration across their palm,” explained Spencer. “Even Allison had it but the ME reports all say there were signs of hesitation in the cut.”

“So our unsub isn’t fond of using a knife?” asked Derek.

“I don’t think it was the unsub,” he said, looking up at his colleague. “I think they were all self-inflicted.”

“Self-inflicted?” questioned Derek, frowning with confusion.

“Yeah, look at this,” he replied, opening a file and handing an image to Derek. “See how shallow the cut is and the angle of it? I think that the victims had all done this to draw blood, not injure themselves.”

“Why? Was he making them perform a spell for him?” he asked before theorising. “What if none of the spells work and that’s why he kills them and moves on to find another witch?”

“I’m not sure,” said Spencer, looking back down at the paper. “Aiden said that blood magic was dangerous, so it’s possible that… wait, the book.”

“The book?”

“The book that was sent to Anwyn.”

“What about it?”

“Anwyn said that Amy had brought it home when she’d found out she was dying but I’d seen it before then,” he explained. “It was on the floor in Allison’s apartment… I just assumed that meant she’d had the book since Amy died but what if she hadn’t? What if she’d found it at Allison’s apartment that day?”

“You think this guy is following the book?”

“Not just following the book, he’s killing people who use it. Maybe that’s why Aiden hasn’t been found, she didn’t use it.”

“So the unsub sends the book back to someone who might so that he can gain a new victim,” Derek said, catching up on where the thought process was going. “But how does he know who has the book and why would he take a new victim in the same place when the others were spread out?”

“That’s the part I still don’t know. I need to find out more about the book,” as he spoke, Aaron was walking towards his office, reading a file. “Hotch, Hotch!” Spencer shouted, trying to get his attention.

“What’s the matter, Reid?” asked Aaron as he walked over.

“I need to get that book back from evidence, I think it has more to do with all of this than we initially thought,” he explained.

“The book was with everything else,” he replied. “I thought you had it all.” Spencer looked confused, looking down at the items on the desk and around.

“No, the last time I saw it…” he started but then realised. “It was on the round table. Just before Anwyn was taken to the marshals…”

“Hotch, Reid thinks the book is how the unsub finds his victims,” Derek aided. “He kills the witches that use the book, that’s why Aiden hasn’t turned up.”

“If Anwyn took the book, would she likely use it?” Aaron asked Spencer.

“That’s why Aiden had the book, to keep her from using it,” he said, pursing his lips as the fear sank in. The three agents shared a look of concern as Aaron pulled out his phone and began to type in a phone number.

“Hello, this is SSA Aaron Hotchner with the BAU in Quantico. I need to contact a witness we believe may be in danger, Anwyn Reid...” he said down the phone with as firm a tone as they’d ever heard him use. “… yes, that’s right… when?... I understand, I’ll send authorisation right away.”

“What’s going on? Are we bringing her back?” asked Spencer but the look on Aaron’s face worried him.

“We’ll be bringing her back as soon as she’s out of the hospital,” he started, causing Spencer to stand from his seat. “It appears that the marshal service found her with a deep laceration to her palm that required several stitches.”

“Hotch, that mean’s she used the book,” Derek added.

“Which hospital?” asked Spencer with severe urgency.

“They wouldn’t tell me till I send through authorisation but they are sending her personal effects immediately,” he explained. “Don’t worry, Reid, we’ll bring her back. In the meantime, you need to keep on this. As soon as they receive my authorisation you can call her in the hospital.”

~

Spencer was staring at the phone on his desk, waiting for the moment he could hear her voice again to know that she was safe. Having spent the best part of a week apart with no sign of Aiden or catching the unsub, this seemingly fresh lead changed everything. Nerves had built up in his stomach, churning and making him feel almost ill, knowing that he was so close to protecting her but at the same time she’d put herself closer to danger.

“Hey, Spence,” came JJ’s voice as she approached him. Her smile always seemed to make everything seem a little better, no matter how desperate or dire the situation might be. “I’ve got the book. The marshal service just delivered it downstairs and I thought you’d wanna be the first to take a look at it.” Spencer smiled up to her in thanks as she placed the book down, the closest he’d knowingly been to it.

“Thanks,” he said looking down to it. “Hey, this looks like it’s been rebound.”

“What do you mean?” asked JJ, stopping as she was about to turn away.

“I mean the binding of the book is much newer than the book itself,” he explained, frowning and examining it closely.

“Well, it’s an old book. Maybe it’s been damaged over the years and it needed repair.”

“No, there’s something odd about it, look,” Spencer pointed to a seam along the spine of the book. “That means that only the spine was rebound. Why would someone go to the effort of doing that? Why not just replace the whole binding?”

“I don’t know enough about old books to guess but… it’d be a good place to hide something,” she joked but Spencer took it very seriously.

“Have you got something sharp, like a nail file or something?” he asked, still examining the book.

“Ummm… yeah,” she replied, moving over to her desk and before trotting back with a letter opener. “Will that do?”

“Perfect,” he said, taking the small blunt blade and trying to work the edge of the binding loose. It took quite a bit of effort but with JJ watching on, he managed to free one end of the binding, leaving it ready to peel free. The more he peeled back, the more nervous he became until finally the binding of the spine came free and something dropped out.

“What was that? JJ asked as he ducked under his desk to retrieve the item. Once he came up again she saw exactly what it was. “Err… guys, come look at this.” She called to the others in the office.

Derek, David, Emily, Aaron and Penelope all moved across from where they were standing or seated to see what it was they’d found. As they all looked on, it was clear what it was.

“Is that… a tracker?” asked Emily, holding out her hand to examine the item. Looking closely, she could make out the battery and antenna, confirming her theory.

“If this is being used to track victims then he knows the book is here,” Aaron started. “Garcia, can you trace the signal and see if we can find where he’s hiding? It may lead us to Aiden.”

“On it,” she said abruptly, almost hoping as she turned and scurried away.

“Reid, I know you’re waiting to call Anwyn but if we find Aiden, she’s going to need you there with her,” said Hotch. “I want you to go with Morgan and JJ the moment we have a location.”

“I want to be there when we catch him anyway,” Spencer said darkly. “I want to look him in the eye and see him when he knows he’s beaten”

~

It was no wonder anyone would choose to hide in such a place. The terrain was difficult enough and the thickness of the undergrowth made in nigh on impossible to walk through the wood quietly. As the team drew nearer to the coordinates they’d been sent, what looked like a large, dilapidated workshop began to emerge through the brush. Smoke was bellowing from a small, rusted chimney, the only giveaway that anyone could inhabit such a place

The armed police moved in as quickly and as silently as they could but it would be clear to anyone inside that they were coming. Spencer, Derek and JJ followed closely, moving to the doorway as the men with automatic rifles set up a perimeter.

With his revolver drawn, Spencer positioned himself right in front of the door, waiting for it to open. Derek and JJ stood off to either side, covering the path as Derek leaned forward to the padlock on the door. The padlock was new but the door fixings were old and rusted, while the door itself was slowly rotting, meaning all it took was a forceful tug to yank it free.

The door swung open and Spencer wasted little time, rushing into the darkened interior before anyone could object. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust when they did the scene was brutal. The first thing he saw was Aiden, tied to a chair with her head hung low but the most shocking part was what he could see had happened to her. She was completely naked with the exception of a blindfold and tape over her mouth, but her skin was covered in bruises and what looked like burn marks. There were muffled screams as she pulled her head away, expecting pain from whoever had entered the building. The moment Spencer realised that Aiden was alone, he turned back to the doorway to stop Derek.

“Stand down,” he shouted, pushing Derek back. “No one enter the building.”

“Reid, what are you doing?” asked Derek.

“JJ, I need you to help her,” said Spencer, moving aside so only she could see in. “Morgan, get a blanket and call off the SWAT team.”

“Oh my God,” exclaimed JJ as she moved through the doorway. “Aiden, it’s JJ. We met at Spencer’s new year party. We’re going to get you out of here.” Spencer could hear her sobbing through the tape, inhaling and exhaling hard through her nose. Closing the door behind him, he moved over to her as well.

“I’m here, Aiden. It’s me, Spencer,” he called out, to help reassure her. As he took in more details of the room, he noticed the computer and tracking equipment on a bench but worst of all, he saw the branding irons and pokers by the stove.

“I’m going to take off the blindfold,” said JJ calmly as she knelt in front of the chair, raising her hands towards Aiden’s face and pulling up the darkened cloth. The tears streamed down her face but she struggled on, as though she were trying to remove the tape. “Hold on, hold on, I’ve got it.” Slowly, JJ peeled back the tape and the moment her lips were free, Aiden looked straight to Spencer and cried out.

“He knows where she is,” she screamed. “Spencer, you’ve got to get her first. He knows. He knows.”


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be advised this chapter discusses torture.

There were officers and officials crawling all over the scene as they led Aiden away from the workshop. Spencer held onto her arm, keeping her steady as she walked, realising just how weak she’d become. It had taken them a while to get her some clothes and the blanket was still around her but it had not been easy. The burns and bruises that covered her entire body made it difficult to move and the material rubbed on the freshest of the burns. Once she was out of the building, Derek accepted her from the doorway, gently taking her up in his arms and being careful not to hurt her even more.

“It’s ok, we got you now,” said Derek, reassuringly as he lifted her up. “Let’s just get you out of these woods.”

Aiden nodded, wrapping her arms around Derek’s neck and then sobbing into his shoulder. Spencer followed the two out of the brush, wanting to find out exactly what it was that she knew but respecting that she needed to be out of that place as soon as she could be. As they neared the road, Derek moved toward the ambulance that had parked up behind their SUV, helping her sit in the open doorway.

“Thank you,” whispered Aiden as Derek placed her down, wincing as the material rubbed on her burns yet again.

“Aiden,” Spencer started but an EMT had stepped between them.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask that you let me treat her,” the paramedic said calmly.

“Spencer,” Aiden called out. “No, it’s ok, I need to talk to him.” The EMT turned to her with a defeated nod, letting Spencer pass.

“Aiden, where is he?” Spencer asked, moving forward.

“I don’t know, he just said that he’d found her and that she’d failed the test,” she replied. “Spencer, tell me she doesn’t have the book.” He couldn’t lie. Even if he wanted to his face had already given him away, causing Aiden to cry out in anguish.

“Who is he? Why did he target you three?” he asked.

“You don’t know, do you?” His blank expression answered the question. “It’s Amy’s father. He’s gone mad, saying that witchcraft killed his daughter and he needed to rid the world of the evil ones. He thinks it was us. He kept saying he had to destroy the power of the three that destroyed him… he kept saying ‘two more or the third will resurrect’.”

“The ones who are willing to use the book?”

“Mhmm,” she nodded, trying not to cry again. “I… I didn’t use it but… he still accused me. Spencer, he thinks it was us. He kept saying he had to destroy the power of the three that destroyed him… he kept saying ‘one more or the third will resurrect’”

“Aiden, what did he do to you?” he asked softly, taking her hands.

“He… he looked for the mark,” she replied, unable to stop herself from crying. “He looked everywhere on me… he… he made me….” She had begun to sob uncontrollably, unable to get out the rest of her sentence till she composed herself somewhere. “I can still feel him… what he did… where he put his hands, searching for the mark… and when he didn’t find it…”

“He got angry and made his own,” Spencer finished, to which Aiden nodded in reply. Pulling her arms from under the blanket, she looked down at her wrists to see the bruising from her bindings. “You’re safe now. We’re going to help you. If you want, I’ll come with you to the hosp…”

“No!” she cried out. “Spencer, he knows where she is. He’s already gone to get. You have to go now.”

Spencer was about to object but at that moment, JJ walked over with a sombre look, fidgeting with her phone in her hand.

“Spence, I…” she started, unsure how to ease in the news. “That was Hotch, the marshals just called and Anwyn is missing. The doctors said she checked herself out but the marshal wasn’t with her.”

“They left her alone!?” exclaimed Spencer as he rose to his feet. “How could they leave her alone; they’re supposed to keep her safe.”

“They’re tracking her cell but right now they need us to do everything we can to find her,” she explained but Spencer was already in his own head, thoughts rushing through his mind as he was suddenly more focused than he’d ever been.

“The book,” he snapped, spinning back round to Aiden. “The book is the key. It’s what he believes is the source of power that killed his daughter. Would he know where Amy got it?”

“I… I guess,” Aiden started, thinking hard about the question. “There were a few stores in the city that sold old and rare magic books. I can only assume she got it from one of those.”

“Thank you,” said Spencer before turning back to JJ. “Would you stay with her? She needs to know she’s safe and I need to go find my wife.”

“Spence, you don’t even have to ask. Go.” With that, he threw his arms around his colleague who held him in return for a moment. “Ok, go, go before anything else happens.” Spencer nodded, turning to rush off to find Derek.

~

“Hotch, we’re on our way back. I need the book. I think there might be a way to figure out where they’re going.” Said Spencer with the phone to his ear, trying hard to hold on to the passenger rail as Derek threw the SUV into drive and planted his foot.

“The marshals got a hit on the phone, and it looks like they’re travelling north on I95, so if that links with your theory…” came Aaron’s voice from the phone.

“I think they’re coming back to Washington,” he confirmed.

“Well, in that case we have around two hours to figure this out,” said Aaron. “What’s the theory.”

“Aiden told me that the unsub is Amy’s father, an old friend of the girls who died around five years ago,” he explained.

“Well, there’s the stressor,” Aaron added.

“Since then he’s been obsessed with the book, saying he needed to rid the world of evil witches who would use the book,” Spencer continued. “Now he has the person who was most likely with Amy when she bought it. I think he’ll take her back to where the book entered his daughter’s life.”

“Where is that?” asked Aaron.

“That’s just it, there are a few places that would be able to get a hold of old books like that, which is why I need the book,” he concluded.

“Ok, I’ll be waiting with it. You and Derek can check out some of these stores while I have Garcia check for digital records.” With that, the line went dead as Aaron hung up.

~

Spencer rushed in through the doorway of the next store on his list, barely even paying attention to the glorious smell of old paper and leather, nor the bell that chimed as he walked through the door. Books lined every single wall and were even stacked in shelving units and on every available surface but Spencer ignored the literary delights that would normally hold his attention. Slapping the old, leather bound book on the counter, he glared at the elderly clerk before he spoke.

“Do you recognise this book?” he asked. “It would have been sold around five years ago but it’s a rare find.”

“Er… let me have a look,” said the older gentleman, picking up the book and examining the author and content. “Well, you’re right about one thing, this is rare but… I’m afraid I can’t help you. I would give an arm and a leg to be able to say I’d possessed such a book but it is not something I can attest to.” Spencer didn’t wait another moment, snatching the book back and storming away past Derek.

“Reid,” shouted Derek, reprimanding his behaviour.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more assistance,” called out the store owner, looking almost ashamed of himself and embarrassed.

“Thank you,” said Derek, looking to the store owner who looked grateful for the thanks but still embarrassed by the slight. Once outside, Derek caught up to Spencer as he headed back to the SUV. “Hey, what was that about?”

“This seems useless,” he exclaimed in frustration. “We have… less than an hour before they arrive in DC and we’ve achieved nothing.”

“Reid, you need to calm down,” Derek started but his words were lost on him.

“I’ve worked for the FBI for more than a decade and I can’t even protect my own wife,” he shouted. “What am I supposed to do? Huh? Tell me how to feel because right now I’m disgusted with myself and angry and I just want her back, Derek.” Spencer had grabbed hold of Derek’s shirt as he the tears started to roll down his cheeks. “What do I do? Tell me, because if I can’t do this, I’ve lost her. I’ve lost everything. And I just… I just can’t. Please… please I just can’t” Derek wrapped his arms around Spencer, tightening his grip and pulling his head into his shoulder, enabling him to let it out.

“We’re going to find her, kid. We’re going to get her back. Right now she needs you to engage that massive brain of yours and work this out,” he reassured. “Go back to basics, what do we know about Amy and the book?”

Derek released Spencer, who pulled away, rubbing his now red eyes so that he could get the tears from them. Holding the book in his hand, he concentrated.

“The book is rare. Very rare, apparently,” he started before looking up at the store they’d just left. “So rare that if its true value was known, it’d be very expensive.”

“What are we saying, Reid?” asked Derek.

“Amy shared an apartment with Anwyn because neither of them could afford the rent on their own,” he explained. “That’s why Anwyn had moved further out of the city when Amy passed away.”

“So?”

“So, Amy couldn’t have afforded a book like this unless it was severely undervalued, meaning we’re looking at the wrong list of bookstores,” Spencer finished. “Call Garcia, have her change her parameters.”

Derek did as he was asked without question or hesitation, leaving Spencer to continue to dry his eyes. Pursing his lips, he pulled a small handkerchief from his pocket and buried his face into the material.

“Hey there, my Goddess,” chimed Derek as his call went through.

“Oh, is that my Adonis, come to rescue me from this horrid and unanswerable search?” came Penelope’s voice from the other end of the line.

“Maybe,” he started. “I need you to change your search a little. We think that whoever sold Amy this book didn’t know what it really was and undervalued it. Maybe you could see if you could find old books of similar names or authors that were sold in the DC area, five years ago?”

“Wow, that’ll almost be as broad as your shoulders,” she started. “How is he doing?”

“We’re getting there,” he answered, watching Spencer blowing his nose and listening to the frantic tapping of keys. Suddenly the tapping ended.

“I got nothing,” she answered finally. “Nothing we can use anyway.”

“Damnit,” he cursed, looking at his watch. “We’ve got less than forty minutes till they’re likely to arrive… what if we looked at this the other way around?”

“Explain?” she asked.

“See if you can look into the last few payments made on any of Amy’s finances and look for any small payments to a bookstore,” he explained. There was another frantic tapping of keys as Penelope began another search.

“We have a payment of twelve dollars from Amy Steinem to a bookstore in downtown Arlington… oh my God,” she exclaimed. “The account was closed five days later due to the holder being deceased. She died within days of the purchase.”

“That’d be enough to make her father believe it was the book,” he said, “Can you…”

“Sending you the address now,” she cut in.

“Thank you, baby girl. You’re a lifesaver.” Derek hit the end call button and looked at the message that had come through, moving back to Spencer. “We got it, kid. You were right.”

“Let me see that,” Spencer stepped forward, looking at the message before turning white as a sheet.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as Spencer swallowed hard.

“That… that’s the bookstore where… where we met.”


	31. Chapter 31

The tyres screamed in complaint as the huge mass of the SUV was thrown to and fro; sirens ringing out loudly and lights flashing blue and red while they weaved in and out of traffic. Every road, every route, every available path was heaving with the masses of people, trying to get home from their day to day business. The most inconvenient time of day to need to cross the city would be the height of rush hour, leaving Spencer and Derek at a disadvantage as they crossed from north of Washington to south of Arlington.

Not only did the location mean crossing town during the rush hour, it also cut the estimation of how long it would be before Amy’s father would reach his destination. Panic was ensuing inside Spencer’s mind as he worked through the calculations of who would get there first and in each answer he saw them arriving at least fifteen minutes late, leaving Anwyn alone with him for quarter of an hour.

As the vehicle charged down the highway, traffic had begun to let up, enabling them to go much faster than they had been but still not as fast as Spencer would have liked. It’d never felt like it’d taken so long to get there before and every second that passed was agony as he tried to concentrate on potentially faster routes.

“Take the next exit,” snapped Spencer as the slip road approached.

“You sure about that?” asked Derek.

“Trust me, it’ll cut around two minutes off,” he confirmed fumbling to get his phone from his pocket as it began to ring. “Hotch?”

“Where are you?” asked the voice on the other end.

“We’re coming up on the area now, maybe six minutes if Morgan keeps his foot down. Why?”

“Dave and Emily are coming up from the other way but we’ve just been informed that police are responding to a burglar alarm at the address of the bookstore.”

“Oh my God, they’re already there?”

“Sounds like it, I’m going to talk to local PD and make sure they’re aware of the situation,” answered Aaron.

~

As the wheels screeched to a halt, they saw the squad cars parked at angles in the street with armed police taking cover and aiming over doors and hoods. The sight was almost too much to even let sink in, to the point where Spencer couldn’t believe that this was really happening. They’d turned up to scenes like this so many times that he was almost immune to the drama of it but when he tried to remind himself that it was Anwyn in danger his brain didn’t seem to want to listen.

Hopping out of the door, Spencer pulled on his bulletproof vest and plugged in his ear piece, moving calmly over to the officers. Derek followed, drawing his weapon and staying low to the ground.

“What’s the situation?” asked Derek as they reached the first officer.

“Single white male in his fifties, has a gun and what looks like a gas can in the bookstore. There is one white, female hostage who is heavily pregnant but we haven’t been able to confirm through a visual,” the officer explained, leaning down so that he could talk.

“The hostage is one of our own,” added Derek, looking back to see Spencer’s reaction but Spencer wasn’t there. Derek and the officer looked back and forth around their covering vehicle but still they couldn’t see him, that was until Derek peeked over the hood towards the store.

Spencer had stood up and walked straight out towards the bookstore, barely paying any attention to the shouts from the officers that surrounded the front of the building. To him, in that moment, he was back in the previous year, where the beginnings of autumn had started to threaten and the breeze had begun to pick up a slight chill. The storefront didn’t look any different to that day either, seeming inviting to any literary connoisseur who was looking for a story less read or a knowledge less shared. As he approached the door he could hear Derek shouting to get back but all he could think of was what he might find once he crossed the threshold into the world of pages and print.

Pushing the door open, he heard the familiar jingle of the bell above the door but there was no scent of coffee, no hint of musty old books, instead there was an overwhelming smell of gasoline. Spencer’s eyes tracked down to his feet to see the carpet along the front of the store had been completely soaked and a trail led forward towards the books that were hoarded in each and every shelf. Some of them had been dragged from their homes, laying sorry and broken on the floor, coated in a drizzling of accelerant. Continuing around the room, Spencer looked at each of the seats and tables, seeing those who had sat there on the fateful day, just over a year ago.

Then he saw her. The most beautiful creature he’d ever known sat helpless, tied to a seat over by the counter. Her hair covered most of her face but the undeniable feeling of joy that shone through him every time he saw her hit him in a fleeting moment but washed away almost as quickly when he saw her captor.

“I said stay there! Are you deaf?” shouted the man beside her. He’d apparently been shouting and waving a gun at him since he walked through the door but Spencer’s mind hadn’t let him hear it until that point.

“Patrick Steinem? My name is Dr. Spencer Reid,” he began. “I’m with the FBI.”

“I know who you are,” replied Amy’s father. “You’ve been with these witches the whole time. Just goes to show that even our government isn’t trusting in God anymore.”

“Patrick, they’re not witches. They’re just girls,” he said, glancing to Anwyn, who had looked up to see him. Her mouth had been covered with tape but her eyes pleaded with him more than any words could have said. It was a look of so much fear that it burned him, knowing that he hadn’t done enough to protect her. “I love her, she’s my wife, the mother of my daughter.”

“Daughter? Daughter?” Patrick shouted. “This won’t be your child, this will be one of her rotten familiars or worse, it’ll be the other one reborn, ready to complete the power of the three that killed MY daughter.”

“Cancer killed your daughter, not magic. Biology and human fragility, nothing else,” Spencer pleaded, taking a step forward.

“She’s got you brainwashed, all of them have. That’s how they get away with it,” explained Amy’s father, pointing the gun down at Anwyn who screamed into the back of tape before sobbing.

“But if you kill them, how will you get her back?” Spencer asked, reaching into his satchel and producing the book of dark magic. “You’ve already made them less powerful, how can you expect them to undo what they’ve done if they’re dead?”

The rouse seemed to work for a moment. Patrick blinked at Spencer a few times, lowering his guard a little. The book had been the centre of his obsession over the past five years and this small validation had drawn his attention away from Anwyn.

“What are you talking about?” asked Patrick.

“If they really are witches and are strong enough to do something like take your daughter away from you, then surely they can bring her back, right?” explained Spencer, stepping even closer.

Patrick tensed again, aiming the gun at Spencer as he moved. The rouse slowly faded and suddenly the danger had become very real again as he reached into his pocket and produced a zippo lighter.

“That’s close enough,” he said. “One more step and we all go up in flames.”

“Alright, alright, you’re in charge,” Spencer said, placing the book down on the nearest table and stepping away a little. “What do you want from this?”

“What do I want? I want to rid the world of people like her, infecting this world with their sinful magic. Infecting weak minded people like you who get sucked into their lies,” he spat.

“You’ve got it wrong,” said Spencer, shaking his head. “Anwyn is the kindest, most caring creature you could ever hope to meet. There isn’t a single evil bone in her body and she cared deeply for Amy.”

“Don’t you dare say her name!” shouted Patrick, stepping forward toward Spencer and lighting the lighter. Instinctively, Spencer drew his revolver, returning the threat to the angry, bereaved father.

“Put the lighter down, Patrick,” he instructed but Amy’s father just grinned.

“Ok,” he replied.

Suddenly, Patrick threw the lighter at Spencer, who ducked away from the flying flame. At the same time, Spencer pulled the trigger, hitting Amy’s father in the chest and causing him to recoil backward into the counter.

The flames spread quicker than Spencer could have even imagined as the lighter landed if the gasoline soaked carpet, finding plenty of fuel to build upon as it reached the shelves. Before he knew it, they were surrounded by flames that burned through the paper and the wood and the carpet. The heat made breathing difficult and the smoke was almost instantly blinding. The only thing on Spencer’s mind was his wife and unborn child, forcing him to push forward toward her without a single thought for himself.

Spencer yanked at the bindings, tearing through the duct tape at her arms before kneeling down to free her ankles as the deafening roar of the building flames overcame most of his senses. He was about to help her up when he looked down to Patrick on the floor just in time to feel the hit slamming into him and knocking him off his feet.

The pain was unbearable for a few moments as the impact of the bullet throbbed through his chest, causing Spencer to cry out in pain but the vest had done its job. Dragging himself to his feet, Spencer stumbled forward as Patrick took aim again but he was too late. Spencer’s shoe struck his wrist, sending the gun flying through the air and out of reach. Patricks eyes followed the gun but Spencer’s rage had built to a breaking point, driving him to kick out at him again, stamping down hard on his knee with a horrid crunch.

Whipping round, he looked back to Anwyn, who was still slumped in the chair, clearly too weak to get herself out. He had no choice but to help her to her feet and put her arm around him for support and pulling the tape from her mouth.

“I’ve got you. Oh my God, I’ve got you,” he shouted over the roar of the flames. “We need to hurry.”

“Spencer… please, Spencer…” she pleaded as he tried to help her to the doorway, coughing from the fumes

Struggling forward, it seemed an impossible task to fight through the flames, unable to really see where he was going and stumbling on unseen objects. After what seemed more like hours, a shape moved toward them through the haze and smoke.

“Reid! Reid!” came Derek’s voice, which had been possibly the most reassuring sound he’d heard all day.

“Take her, please, get her out of here,” begged Spencer as Derek reached them, handing her over to him and almost pushing him away.

“Come on, I’ve got you,” he said, lifting Anwyn off of her feet with relative ease. “Reid, come on,”

The air outside hit Spencer’s lungs the moment they broke free of the pluming smoke, making him cough uncontrollably before collapsing to the floor. Before he knew it, hands grabbed him, pulling him up by his arms and standing him up again.

“It’s alright, kid. I got’cha,” came David’s voice. “Don’t you scare us like that again, you hear me?”

“Anwyn…” Spencer started but coughed hard the moment the word had come out.

“…is with Derek, being seen by EMTs,” he continued. “Which is clearly what you need right now, come on.”

Firefighters and emergency servicemen were rushing past them as they walked away from the scene into a much more placid setting just beyond the patrol cars. Suddenly, Spencer was back in the end of summer come beginning of autumn breeze; which, without the smell of smoke, would have been every bit the same as that very first day. They’d met briefly in the store and parted ways only to be reunited elsewhere and today was no different in that sense.

“Reid, you need to get in the ambulance,” shouted Derek as he rushed back over.

“I’m fine, I just wanna see her,” he replied as David helped him on.

“No, you need to get in the ambulance, right now, they’re taking her to the hospital.”

That was all Spencer needed to hear to give him a much greater sense of urgency, standing of his own power and meeting Derek.

“Wha… what’s wrong? She was ok,” he exclaimed as Derek led him onward.

“I… I got her to the ambulance and her waters broke, they need to get her to hospital,” started Derek. “This baby is coming now.”

“No, no it can’t, she’s got four more weeks,” said Spencer, trying to rationalise but that didn’t take away from the fact that this was happening and it was happening right now.


	32. Chapter 32

“Spencer, I’m scared,” cried Anwyn, gripping his hand tightly as she lay on the gurney.

“I know, but it’s going to be alright, we’re nearly there,” he answered, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze back.

The ambulance charged down the highway, diving between traffic with much greater ease than the SUV, as though people were more inclined to move out of the way for such a vehicle. It had taken them half the time to cover the distance but Spencer only cared that they help his wife.

“This is too soon,” she sobbed, grimacing as a contraction suddenly kicked in. “It’s happening too quickly.”

“You’ll be fine. Amy will be fine, you just have to stay strong for her,” he continued to reassure as she tried to control her breathing to no avail. Every time she did it triggered fits of coughing from the heavy smoke, increasing both her panic and her discomfort.

“Ok, let’s get this on you,” said the paramedic as he calmly placed an oxygen mask over her face. “Don’t try and control your breathing unless there is a contraction. Just breathe normally.”

Anwyn held on to the front of the mask, almost panting into it as she tried to catch her breath till suddenly another contraction hit, causing her to cry out in pain. There was no clear train of thought in Spencer’s mind as he tried to work through the potential risks and weighed up the outcome. If it had been his life in danger, he would have been more focused and less bias but with his wife and unborn child in potential peril it was difficult to work through diagnosis. The worst part was that he knew he had to keep reassuring her, to try and keep her calm and let her know she was safe but he had no idea what to say. It was like a social and vocabulary void had suddenly engulfed him and prevented him from constructing anything supportive other than repeating what he’d said.

“Come on, Anwyn. You’re going to be ok. We’ll get through this and Amy will be here earlier than expected,” he said, realising that was it. That was the motivator he’d been looking for because deep down, as he spoke, he felt a spark of joy in the idea that his daughter would soon be there. “She’s coming to see us, so we can be a family.”

That did it. The first smile of hers that he’d seen in over a week and suddenly the spark of joy from deep down inside erupted into his features as he beamed broadly in return.

“She’s really coming,” came Anwyn’s voice, muffled through the mask as she continued to breath. “We’re having a baby, Spencer.”

“Yes, yes, we are,” he confirmed. “You’re doing amazingly, just keep going.”

Another contraction hit as the ambulance ground to a halt, causing Anwyn to throw her head back and grip Spencer’s hand with more strength than he even realised she had. The pain in his hand was bad but he didn’t dare complain, knowing that it was nothing compared to what she was going through.

“Let’s get her out of the vehicle and into the hospital,” said the EMT as he pulled the sides of the gurney rails up. Spencer tracked alongside her the entire way into the hospital, never once letting go of her hand as they pushed through the automatic doors. The moment they were inside, the doctor and nurses rushed over to accept her.

“This is Anwyn Reid, twenty-nine years old and thirty-six weeks pregnant. Pulled from a burning building with heavy smoke inhalation followed by stress induced labour. She’s tachycardic and has elevated blood pressure of one forty over ninety,” said the paramedic as he handed over the details to the doctor. “She’s had no pain relief and contractions are building rapidly, about one every two minutes and she’s fully dilated.”

With what must have taken a lot of practice, the doctor leaned over Anwyn, placing a stethoscope to her enlarged abdomen, listening intently as the nurse took down the details. As she looked up at Spencer, he could see the panic slowly returning to Anwyn’s face as she heard what the paramedic had been saying, not understanding what was going on.

“It’s ok,” he said reassuringly. “Those things can be perfectly normal. Don’t worry.”

“Ok, the baby’s heart rate is high, showing signs of distress,” exclaimed the doctor. “Call the OR.”

“What?” cried out Anwyn, removing the mask.

“Mrs. Reid, the baby is in too much distress to continue with a labour this early, we’re going to have to perform an emergency caesarean or both you and the baby will be at great risk,” he explained.

“Oh my God, Spencer,” she erupted, looking to him in sheer terror.

“Is there any way of slowing the labour and calming the baby?” asked Spencer.

“Mr. Reid?” asked the Doctor.

“Dr. Reid,” he corrected.

“Well, there are ways of doing that but your wife is already at second stage. This baby is coming today, whether we like it or not.”

As they approached another set of double doors a nurse stepped in Spencer’s way, causing Anwyn’s hand to be ripped from his. The sheer horror in Anwyn’s eyes made her cry out but the nurse insisted.

“I’m sorry, sir but you have to wait here. We can’t let you into the OR in the state that you’re in,”

“State!?” objected Spencer, trying to almost force his way around the nurse.

“Please, sir, you’ve been coughing from the moment you walked through the door. There are clear signs of smoke inhalation and you could put both mother and child at risk by being in that OR.” It was an easy way to bring him down. As much as it killed him to watch her be taken away from him yet again, he needed to do everything he could to keep the two most important things in the world safe. Even if that meant taking himself out of the equation. “Let’s get you checked out and then you can sit in the waiting area at the end of the hall.”

All he could do was give in to her, letting himself be led to a cubicle to be examined as the frustration built up inside him, gripping tightly at the sheet of the bed. It was all he could do to keep himself from pushing the young doctor that had begun to examine him out of the way and storm down the hall after his wife.

~

“You know better than anyone how strong she is, kid,” said Derek as they sat together in the overly lit hallway “I bet if she wanted to she could use those powers of hers to kick your ass and mine, so why would she let something silly like this hurt her or the baby?”

“I know, I just feel so useless right now,” replied Spencer, standing up and tucking his hair behind his ear. “I just wish there was something I could do. Even if it were just being there for her.”

“You are here for her,” explained Derek. “She knows that and she knows that you risked your life to get the both of them back. People don’t forget that easily.”

Spencer was just about to speak when the sound of the double doors at the end of the corridor caught his attention. Both of them looked up to see a nurse walking toward them but neither could tell if the news was good or bad. There was no smile or look of sympathy, not even a glance but the moment of truth had arrived.

“Mr. Reid?” she asked.

“It’s doc… never mind, yes,” he replied, making Derek smile as he watched him break the habit of a lifetime.

“Amy is waiting to say hello to her daddy,” she said, smiling broadly and turning so that she could lead him on. Spencer turned to Derek with silent celebration, throwing his arms up in the air with a gaping jaw before throwing his arms around his colleague.

“Hey, see. Congratulations, kid,” said Derek, hugging him back before pushing him away. “Now go be a dad.”

“Thank you, for helping her,” said Spencer with a sincere smile.

~

The room was very dimly lit, much to Spencer’s appreciation as he opened the door but more to his joy he revealed an exhausted looking Anwyn, laying in a bed with their newborn child in her arms and a heart monitor that bleeped steadily beside her.

“There he is,” she exclaimed to the baby but Amy didn’t seem interested in the slightest after having just as long a day as mom and dad.

“Oh my God, Anwyn, you’re a mother,” he said, moving towards her with the broadest smile of his life.

“And you’re a father,” she replied with a chuckle. “Scary, isn’t it?”

“Less scary now that I have you both back,” he answered, leaning down to her and kissing her lips softly. “Mmmm, I missed that so much.”

“Me too,” she giggled.

“How are you feeling?” asked Spencer as he looked down at the small, round-faced little girl in her arms as her eyes opened and closed lazily and out of time.

“We’re both very tired,” said Anwyn, who also looked down at her baby. “The doctor said as soon as she sleeps I should sleep too. They also said I’m very bradycardic and my blood pressure is low but they’re going to keep an eye on it.”

“Well that’ll make you feel a little lethargic too,” he said, watching with glee as the baby drifted silently off to sleep. “Why did you take the book?”

“Spencer…” she sighed, not wanting to go into her feelings of it at that point in time.

“I’m just curious, what did you do with it?” he asked.

“I wanted to do something to someone but I didn’t know who to do it to so… in the end I found a protection spell,” she explained. “To protect our daughter, no matter what happened.”

“It’s ok,” he replied with a gently smile. “I just wanted to know.”

“Would you like to hold her?” asked Anwyn, raising the baby toward him and allowing him to slide his hands gently around her. Spencer supported her head through the blanket, holding her gently in his arms, unable to look anywhere but at his daughter.

“This is amazing,” he whispered, trying not to wake her. “You’re so tiny and beautiful.”

Anwyn smiled weakly as she watched her daughter and husband together, a sight that a few hours ago she thought she’d never see. It was a perfect moment, seeing him so happy, like all his life goals had suddenly become complete even if they were completely different to when he started.

“I’m going to rest now, Spencer,” she said, leaning back into the bed. “It’s your turn for a while.”

“You sleep,” he replied, sitting down in the chair by the bed. “You’ve done enough for it to be my turn for at least the first year.”

“Don’t you try and take my turns away from me,” she joked, closing her eyes and sighing with relief now that she could finally be at peace.

It didn’t surprise Spencer that she was able to sleep so quickly, being so exhausted and being wrapped up warm in the low light with a melodic beep, beep, beep coming from the monitor. The peace in her sleepy smile made him relax, knowing that she was finally safe and so was the small bundle of joy in his arms.

Minute passed by with only the sound of gentle breathing and repetitive beeping as proof of the passing of time, but Spencer couldn’t get bored as he stared down at the wonder in his arms, unable to believe his eyes. There was nothing else in the world going on right now, there was just Spencer and the baby and neither hell nor high water would take her away from him now.

Then something changed, causing Spencer to look up a little. He didn’t know what it was but something seemed incorrect and it took a long time for him to figure it out. The beeping had slowed and was still slowing, meaning Anwyn’s heart rate was falling.

Standing up, Spencer held his daughter close and leaned forward to look at the monitor as the heart rate figure began to flash. Fifty, forty-seven, forty-four, forty. Then came a warning alarm, causing Spencer to back away toward the door.

“Someone,” he shouted, “Someone help!” Thirty-six, Thirty-two, Twenty-eight.

Then came the horrid, long, drawn out beep that screamed in his ears, knowing that it meant her heart had stopped. Nurses burst through the door and rushed to either side of the bed, followed by a doctor. Everything started happening very quickly and Spencer had no idea what to do as, not even hearing the nurse as she asked him to move outside so that they could do their job.


	33. Epilogue

“You know, you had me terrified,” said Spencer as he smiled to her. “All I could think about is how you told me over and over that things happen in certain ways for certain reasons and I couldn’t help but think, why that bookstore on that day? Did you know it was exactly three hundred and sixty-five days, eight hours and forty-two minutes from when we first walked into each other’s lives to when I saw you tied to that chair…” Spencer paused, looking at Anwyn with a sincere smile. “And then you came back to me, and we have the most beautiful daughter anyone could ever ask for… and it worked. The spell worked.”

Spencer’s face contorted as he began to cry, leaning his head down so that he could wipe away the fresh tears from his already red eyes. The room was completely silent she was completely silent, and unmoving having found a peace that she sorely needed.

“The doctor said that… that you had a weak valve in your heart, that no one had known about,” he sobbed. “And that, if you’d not gone through the stress and induced early labour… they’d never have gone for the C-section and the natural labour would have….” He couldn’t do it; he couldn’t finish that sentence.

“They said that the induced labour saved Amy’s life at the cost of yours, meaning you really did protect her… no matter what.” Spencer swallowed hard as the tears streamed down his face, looking at her. She just looked like she was still resting, like she’d been napping longer than she’d intended but the truth was she would never wake up. “I’m so proud of you, for what you did for her. And part of me thinks you knew exactly what you were doing, even though it defies all logic and reason, but then you were never a fan of that, were you?” He sobbed hard, stepping forward to lean against the foot of the bed as he tried to hold himself together. “I love you, Anwyn. I love you so much but now you’re never going to be there. I’m never going to get to hold you, or kiss you, or share any of the memories that we should share with our daughter.”

Spencer let out a short laugh though his tears as the thought came to his mind, something that he’d have never thought before she’d come into his life a year ago, something that in any other circumstance he wouldn’t have held on to.

“So now, you get to be with Allison and Amy. You get to watch over our daughter with people who loved you almost as much as I did…”

At that moment, the door opened, breaking the silence that allowed Spencer’s voice to carry so much meaning. Standing there, with as lost a look as Spencer was Aiden, still bruised but it was hardly noticeable beneath the red eyes and cheeks.

“Oh my God…” was all she managed before breaking down and stepping toward Spencer, throwing her arms around him and sobbing into his chest. “Spencer, she’s gone…” she continued to cry out.

“I know…” he replied. “I know.”

“I’ve… I’ve got no one left,” she said, pulling away from him a little. “They’re all gone and I’m stuck here without them.”

“Aiden, listen to me,” he started. “If there’s anything Anwyn taught me, it’s that they’re always here. Always. But, you have me, and the baby… because, let’s face it, I’m, um, gonna need some help.”

Aiden nodded as her face contorted in the same way Spencer’s had, burying itself into his chest again to sob uncontrollably.

~

The trek up the stairs seemed longer to Spencer than usual, unsure if it was the weight of the baby carry or the dread of stepping into their apartment to be surrounded by reminders of her all day. Behind him, Derek and Amy carried bags of supplies, stopping behind him as he approached the door. His keys were in his hand and he’d already selected the correct key but something was stopping him, as though his body just wouldn’t let him open the door.

“Reid…” said Derek, giving him wordless reassurance.

Spencer looked to Derek and nodded before turning back and pushing the key into the lock barrel. As the door swung open, it revealed a living room filled with memories of her, with candles and cushions and crystals and coffee cups. Stepping through the doorway and across the threshold, his eyes travelled to the two photographs on the altar, seeing Anwyn with Amy and Anwyn with Allison in their happiest moments together.

“I can’t… I can’t do this,” he said, turning back to Aiden and Derek. Aiden was distracted by the same thing he’d just seen, starting to cry once more but Derek remained strong.

“Yes, you can. For your daughter,” he said. “You’re a dad now, you have to be strong for her.”

“And what if I can’t do it on my own?” he asked.

“Then I’ll be here,” said Aiden in a brief interval between sniffing. “You said you’d both be there for me… so I’ll be there for you.”

Spencer smiled as he watched her cross to the altar, moving the candles around and repositioning the photos. She took away all but three of the candles, placing one either side of the two frames and one in front, in-between.

“No…” Spencer objected as she placed the middle candle, taking up the larger Yankee candle from the coffee table. “This… this is the candle that Anwyn gave me the day we met. It’s what I’d like to represent her.” Aiden stepped up to him, smiling as she took the candle from him and placed it between the photo frames.

“Do you have a light?” she asked, turning back to him.

“Er… no, we use matches. They’re in the top drawer over by the door.” Spencer explained, pointing to the small side table. Aiden started to move past Derek, who had yet to put his bags down, but he stopped her before she could go any further.

“Erm… guys…” he said, staring at the photo frames. Both Aiden and Spencer looked back at the altar to see the flame of the Yankee candle grow from a small ember into a full flame. No sooner had the central candle fully lit, the two candles either side began to grow too.

“Oh my God,” exclaimed Aiden, looking to Spencer.

“Maybe she hasn’t gone after all,” he said, looking down to Amy in the carrier as she looked back at him. “She’ll always protect you, which is more than I can say I did for her.”

“Reid… you did everything you could have,” Derek objected. “Even the doctors had said that there was no way of knowing.”

Spencer shrugged, moving around the sofa and placing the carrier on the coffee table in front of him. His entire world was now contained in that small basket, wrapped in a blanket with the same eyes as his previous entire world.

“There is something I can do,” he started, looking around to Aiden with a smile. “With your help, I can make sure Amy grows up knowing just who her mom was and just how she lived her life. Kind, caring, loving and with so much hope. I’ll make sure she understands the magic she brought to the world, and the candle in the dark that she was…. But most of all, I’ll make sure she still feels her love, every day, knowing that her mom will always protect her, because I truly believe that it’s what she did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me! Feedback and reviews are highly appreciated. 
> 
> Look out for little peeks into Spencer's life with Amy :)


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